Review of Moneyball (2011) by Edd J — 05 Aug 2013

As contrived as the statement I'm about to make might sound, I can't help but say it. Moneyball is unlike any other sports movie I've seen in awhile. Why? Because it does something completely different that most other films of its genre usually don't do. It doesn't really focus on the team's athletes or coaches that we mainly see when we go to watch certain sports games (baseball, football, etc.). Instead, it focuses on the general managers and the scouts that are responsible for the athlete's and coach's fates on the team (whether they stay on the team, whether they go somewhere else, who should be on their team, etc.).

In Bennett Miller's sports drama Moneyball, we follow the Oakland Athletics baseball team's general manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) as he is struggling to figure out how to improve the team in the middle of the 2002 season after a handful of key players have left. Despite their unfortunate financial limitations, he hires a recent economics graduate (Jonah Hill) with interesting theories regarding the value of the players and makes him his assistant general manager. Together, they analyze all the players in the league and try to scout players who are able to get on base and play ball.

Because I know very little about the world of sports, between its complicated statistics, game rules, etc., I'm not really the most eligible person to state whether or not the film is authentic to the real-life story it was based on or if it feels authentic in terms of capturing how the sports managing and scouting process goes. Having said that, based on what I saw, I felt that it was pretty realistic in my mind and I think writers Aaron Sorkin and Steven Zaillian did a very good job at capturing what this process may most realistically be like.

I never thought I'd see the day in which Brad Pitt plays a sports general manager in his career anytime soon. But it looks like that day had come, and he actually does a surprisingly good job with his performance since he is convincing with his willingness to do whatever dirty strategies it takes to make this team better. The only performance to be more surprising than Pitt's is Jonah Hill's supporting performance as the assistant GM. Not only is he able to hold his own alongside the likes of Brad Pitt, he convinced me that he's knowledgeable in the area of sports and that he believes in the theories that this character believes in.

There are a few significant weaknesses to the picture though. One is the story sidetrack involving Billy's family which includes his ex-wife (Robin Wright) and his daughter (Kerris Dorsey) that feels too underdeveloped to the point where it's a distraction to the main plot rather than a necessary part to the film. The other part of the story that could have been better developed involves the team's athletes and coaches. I think I would have liked it if the film delved more into the issues and conflicts of the team members on the field and obtain some of their perspectives as well.

Aside from those notable nitpicks, Moneyball is a film hardcore sports fans owe it to themselves to take a look at. It not only respects their intelligence in this field, but it brings them something new that they've been waiting to see for a long time: a more behind-the-scenes look behind one of America's most beloved sports - baseball.