2011
12A
Starring Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill,Robin Wright
Directed by Bennet Miller
Whether it was due to the critical acclaim, or the fact that
Aaron Sorkin was on script writing duties, I really wanted to love this film.
And it was good, but not for the reasons expected. Moneyball doesn’t
necessarily require extensive knowledge of baseball, but unlike the F1
documentary Senna, a bit of prior understanding would probably aide your
viewing.
The film is based on Michael Lewis’ book of the same name
and is an account of Oakland Athletics team’s 2002 season. General Manager
Billy Beane (Pitt) and economist Peter Brand (Hill) are faced with a dire
financial situations and resort to a sabermetric approach to rating and
analysing players. And instead of all the sports movie clichés, this
mathematical approach to picking players is why the film is interesting.
Instead of what you normally expect from a sports movie, Moneyball has a
sophisticated edge and the economic discussions are pretty complex.
Pitt and Hill are fantastic collectively and you get the
impression they are doing dramatically more than trying to be caricatures of
Beane and Brand. What’s more is that the pair of them are pared back and
believable whilst maintaining some of the charm we know and love to make their
characters believable. Together they lend to some comedic moments, both men
manage to incorporate their humour with straight drama which is a delight to
watch.
Moneyball isn’t just about baseball but the storyline with
Beane’s daughter feels a little out of place and less realistic than the rest
of the movie. Also, Moneyball is a lengthy film. Personally I am not opposed to
long films provided they grip from start to finish, but at times found myself
thinking it could have done with a more ruthless edit.
With that said, Moneyball is a recommendation on the grounds
of the interesting aspect of baseball and wonderful acting.
Rating: 5.5
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