Moneyball
Directed by: Bennet Miller
Starring: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Scott Pratt
Rated: PG-13 for some strong language.
After years in production hell, Brad Pitt finally got to release his version of Michael Lewis’ book Moneyball. While the film has undergone several different directors, writers, stars, and distributors, Brad Pitt has been in it the long-hall, even calling possible investors when the film lost it’s funding several years back. His work paid off: Moneyball is an engaging film, one of Pitt’s finest yet most subtle performances, and kick-starts the 2011 Oscar season. The story follows Billy Beane (Pitt), a former baseball bust, who is now the general manager of a low-market team, the Oakland Athletics. After some success, Beane seems to always lose his players to larger market teams. To counter, Beane turns from traditional baseball theory to the statistical analysis of Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), much to the dismay of his team’s manager Art Howe (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Much in the way Fincher’s The Social Network wasn’t about Facebook, Moneyball isn’t really about baseball. Sure there’s numerous players and jargon that the diehard baseball fans (like myself) will enjoy, but the story is more about how obsession can lead you to greatness even if you’re too blind to see it (yet there is more resolution in the end.) While Beane’s determination to not fail is certainly the flagship of the film, others are fighting similar demons; the catcher who can no longer throw, the veteran who is losing his talent, the pitcher who no one believes in, even Peter Brand’s theories that everyone rejects. Like the game of baseball, failure in life is inevitable. It’s how we handle or see the light through that failure that the film wants to deal with. Behind the brilliant direction of Bennet Miller and writing of Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, Moneyball is a solid film that captures the beauty of baseball, the inner workings of organized sports, the fight against traditionalism, and more than just an accurate picture of a sport; it’s an accurate picture of life.
Rated: PG-13 for some strong language.
After years in production hell, Brad Pitt finally got to release his version of Michael Lewis’ book Moneyball. While the film has undergone several different directors, writers, stars, and distributors, Brad Pitt has been in it the long-hall, even calling possible investors when the film lost it’s funding several years back. His work paid off: Moneyball is an engaging film, one of Pitt’s finest yet most subtle performances, and kick-starts the 2011 Oscar season. The story follows Billy Beane (Pitt), a former baseball bust, who is now the general manager of a low-market team, the Oakland Athletics. After some success, Beane seems to always lose his players to larger market teams. To counter, Beane turns from traditional baseball theory to the statistical analysis of Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), much to the dismay of his team’s manager Art Howe (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Much in the way Fincher’s The Social Network wasn’t about Facebook, Moneyball isn’t really about baseball. Sure there’s numerous players and jargon that the diehard baseball fans (like myself) will enjoy, but the story is more about how obsession can lead you to greatness even if you’re too blind to see it (yet there is more resolution in the end.) While Beane’s determination to not fail is certainly the flagship of the film, others are fighting similar demons; the catcher who can no longer throw, the veteran who is losing his talent, the pitcher who no one believes in, even Peter Brand’s theories that everyone rejects. Like the game of baseball, failure in life is inevitable. It’s how we handle or see the light through that failure that the film wants to deal with. Behind the brilliant direction of Bennet Miller and writing of Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, Moneyball is a solid film that captures the beauty of baseball, the inner workings of organized sports, the fight against traditionalism, and more than just an accurate picture of a sport; it’s an accurate picture of life.
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