Moneyball

Starring: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robin Wright, Chris Pratt, Stephen Bishop
Directed by: Bennett Miller
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama, Sport
2011

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) turns a hundred years of baseball knowledge on its head as he seeks to use advanced analysis to put together a winning team.

Review:

Tim: I think Moneyball is a great movie- but just barely. I would consider it a very well made, powerful movie. It did so much right. However, I left the movie still wanting just a bit more. It is a fascinating look at a very interesting trend in baseball, and it deserves many of the accolades it is receiving.

The script is really the driving force behind this movie's greatness. You could remove a number of different elements and still have a solid movie, but it's the writing of Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin that makes this movie worthwhile. The scenes move quickly, the dialogue is sharp, and the movie is entertaining to watch. I can't say enough about the quality of the script. This is a baseball movie, but it's not really about baseball. It's about the behind-the-scenes look at running a baseball club. This is a pretty fascinating world, and I loved being able to peek behind the curtain.

The cast is good, but I can't help but think a bit too much is being made of their performances. Brad Pitt is very good as Billy Beane, as it requires him to be charismatic and generally act directly in his wheelhouse. I'm honestly a bit surprised he received an Academy Award nomination- he is certainly good, but this is a fairly safe role for him. I was pleasantly surprised to see Jonah Hill get an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, because I really do like him as an actor. However, I expected more from his performance. He's certainly good, but I didn't see what exactly made his performance here special. I enjoyed him in the film and he made it better, but I'm not sure how memorable it was. Philip Seymour Hoffman does add in a good supporting performance as well.

One of my biggest complaints of the film is that I felt like it didn't paint a completely accurate portrayal of the Oakland A's and the success they achieved in the 2000s. At the time of their impressive run, they had some of the best pitchers in the Majors. This fact isn't touched on in the least in the film. I felt like it showed a somewhat biased, not exactly true picture. The culmination of the story is that based on the "moneyball" formula, the Boston Red Sox won the World Series. But, this is a movie about the Oakland A's!!! What did they do? Not a whole lot. I felt like it was a bit of a letdown in the story. You can't make things up for a movie based on real life, though.

While there are some limits to the film, it's still a pretty entertaining, fascinating look at the inner workings of a baseball team. The on-field scenes are very good, but it's the dynamic of the cast (especially Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill interacting together) that makes the movie special.

Moneyball is a great movie (but just barely). I very much did enjoy the film, and would consider it in the upper echelon of 2011 movies.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 8



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Secretariat br>