I’m not typically a huge fan of sports movies. Sure, I can get swept away into the emotion of it all and root for the underdogs. And yeah, I can sit on the edge of my seat in anticipation of the outcome of the big game or fight. Moneyball is a movie for people who don’t like sports movies--and maybe for those that do too. Granted it’s not necessarily your typical rock ‘em, sock ‘em sports movie. But what would you expect from a film that was written by The West Wing creator, Aaron Sorkin?
Moneyball is the story of Oakland A’s general manager and ex-baseball player, Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), who tries to make the A’s a winning team, despite having a third of the budget of basically every other team on the planet. When he encounters an economics Yale graduate, Peter (still fat Jonah Hill), who thinks about baseball in stats and numbers rather than judging the players’ personalities and looks, he snatches him up in hopes of reinventing baseball.
Together, the two set out to put together a team full of misfit toys who are cheap and effective but have been overlooked by the other major teams. Throughout this process, Billy and Peter butt heads with the A’s coach (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), the owners, and basically everyone else in baseball. The film also takes a look back at how Billy went from promising rookie to a scout before settling in as the A’s general manager. Robin Wright is also thrown in to play his wife for a brief snippet. Just FYI.
This may sound kinda boring to those who want a traditional baseball flick. And you do get to see some games, but I was pleasantly surprised at how riveting this movie actually was. It’s slightly long, granted, but Moneyball is so sharply written and well-acted that the film comes together quite cohesively. They even thrown in some clever and funny moments to keep the story chugging forward. Pitt and Hill also have great chemistry, and Pitt has never been better with an incredibly nuanced performance.
Moneyball might not be for the thrill seekers who love a great sports flick, but I don’t want to describe it as a strategies and statistics movie because that sounds boring as shit, and this film is not. It’s subtle yet powerful, quiet yet moving, and offers a great performance by Brad Pitt.
--Darcie Duttweiler
Moneyball is the story of Oakland A’s general manager and ex-baseball player, Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), who tries to make the A’s a winning team, despite having a third of the budget of basically every other team on the planet. When he encounters an economics Yale graduate, Peter (still fat Jonah Hill), who thinks about baseball in stats and numbers rather than judging the players’ personalities and looks, he snatches him up in hopes of reinventing baseball.
Together, the two set out to put together a team full of misfit toys who are cheap and effective but have been overlooked by the other major teams. Throughout this process, Billy and Peter butt heads with the A’s coach (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), the owners, and basically everyone else in baseball. The film also takes a look back at how Billy went from promising rookie to a scout before settling in as the A’s general manager. Robin Wright is also thrown in to play his wife for a brief snippet. Just FYI.
This may sound kinda boring to those who want a traditional baseball flick. And you do get to see some games, but I was pleasantly surprised at how riveting this movie actually was. It’s slightly long, granted, but Moneyball is so sharply written and well-acted that the film comes together quite cohesively. They even thrown in some clever and funny moments to keep the story chugging forward. Pitt and Hill also have great chemistry, and Pitt has never been better with an incredibly nuanced performance.
Moneyball might not be for the thrill seekers who love a great sports flick, but I don’t want to describe it as a strategies and statistics movie because that sounds boring as shit, and this film is not. It’s subtle yet powerful, quiet yet moving, and offers a great performance by Brad Pitt.
--Darcie Duttweiler
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