We've all seen a lot of great baseball movies ranging from The Sandlot to The Natural. And we've all seen a lot of bad baseball movies like Mr. 3000 and The Benchwarmers. But I can almost guarantee that no one has seen a baseball movie quite like MoneyBall.
Brad Pitt plays Billy Beane, the General Manager for the Oakland Athletics who is struggling to win the last game of the season. In this case, the last game of the season was in the American League Division Series elimination game against the Evil Empire New York Yankees and their deep, deep pockets of money. An early statistic in the film stated the payroll difference of the two teams. New York Yankees- $114 odd million. Oakland A's- a smashing $39 million. quite a difference if you ask me.
After Billy Beane pleads his case to the owner of the A's that without more money they can't compete with wealthier teams because they can't buy all-stars, Beane attempts to make deals with other teams. On his travels to Cleveland he discovers Peter Brand, who is played by Jonah Hill(that guy from Superbad who drops the f-bomb every other line and has an extremely odd obsession with drawing dicks. But that has nothing to do with the movie), a Yale grad with a degree in Economics. Brand comes off as a very socially awkward guy who has never had a job before. ever. Beane is quickly impressed with Brand's knowledge and theories on baseball and after an unexpected late night call from Beane to Brand, Beane offers Brand a job as his assistant GM for the Oakland A's. Quite the promotion for a guy who has never had a job before.
The two then scheme together a plan to build a team based on how frequently the ball players can get on base, also known as their OBP or on base percentage. the old time scouts in the clubhouse disagree with the method the film then moves in to a fireball of obstacles and failures, disapprovals and disappointments. there is no love interest in the film except for the romance shared between Billy Beane and baseball.
Brad Pitt put on a stellar performance giving all of his emotions for the character Billy Beane and expressing his faith in the system Beane and Brand adopted called Moneyball. I was surprised at how well Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill worked together. The chemistry between them was remarkable, learning from one another about not just their theories of baseball but on life and how to do what you believe in no matter what the cost. it was almost like watching Robin Williams and Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting.
I can't forget to mention the great screenwriting and directing for this movie. Director Bennett Miller (who also directed Phillip Seymour Hoffman in Capote) brought the movie to life with different camera angles and close ups of Brad Pitts face and random photographs in the film. The film goes back and forth from past and present with Pitt's character and the way those scenes are delivered help for a very clear and understandable vision.
The film is based off the best selling book by Michael Lewis MoneyBall: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game. Steve Zaillian (Schindlers List and Gangs of New York) and Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network - that one film about Facebook with Justin Timberlake in) co-wrote the story for the screen.
Overall I give the film an eight out of ten. I could have done without Brad Pitt looking like a Ken doll but his performance as Billy Beane may have been the best he's ever acted and I wouldn't be surprised if he's nominated for some big time (Oscar!!!) awards. I really enjoyed the film and I'm glad they didn't follow the traditional standards for a baseball movie and the acting in the film was spot on.
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