Moneyball

The only thing that seems odder than pairing up Brad Pitt and baseball is pairing up Brad Pitt with Jonah Hill. Well, both of those combinations appear in Moneyball, the story of Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane, played by Pitt, and his attempt to compete with wealthier teams. With the help of Hill’s character, they build a team of cheaper players, who excel at less recognized aspects of the game. Throughout the film, there is an underlying tension that keeps the audience interested in what could be considered a boring aspect of front office baseball. For sports fans, the film is sure to be a springboard for many hours of Wikipedia research on the Moneyball concept and the real life people portrayed in the film.

While some events were altered for dramatic effect, the reality of the process the A’s used after the 2002 season is an impressive underdog story. The pacing is so perfect that one would hardly notice you’re watching men sit around and talk about baseball statistics. Sure there are other things that happen, but the numbers are central. Pitt’s portrayal of Beane is understated and believable. I find that more impressive with Pitt than other actors because he’s so famous. If the audience can forget his red carpet status for the duration of a movie, then he’s done a good job.

The film has a similar feel to The Social Network in how interesting it is while dealing with potentially boring subject matter. That shouldn’t come as much of a surprise since Aaron Sorkin was one of Moneyball’s writers and won the Oscar for his work on The Social Network. The non-baseball scenes, which include Beane’s interactions with his daughter, are very well done and give context to the world these sports execs are living in. These father-daughter moments are as simple as browsing a music store. But their just another example of how Moneyball makes the most typical conversation insightful and interesting. (9.1 out of 10)