Moneyball pitches a solid strike
Eva Boguslawski
October 4, 2011
Filed under Arts & Entertainment
Moneyball is the story of how Oakland A’s manager Billy Beane successfully turned around his baseball organization by changing up the traditional standards of drafting players and utilizing a new statistical analysis of crunching numbers with computers in order to recruit the best players for his team.
The movie begins with Beane selecting new business partner Peter Brand, a college grad and economics genius, and the pair take off on a mission to build a winning organization.
Defying convention, this new strategy puts Beane at odds with everyone from the field manager, the fans, and even the media who fail to understand Beane’s actions of wanting to reinvent the game, cutting costs, and changing the traditional standards of baseball forever.
By skipping the fluff found inside of so many sports films, “Moneyball” works by focusing on compelling discussions and legitimate meetings between the characters involved.
A good balance is maintained inside “Moneyball” between making it simple enough for many who are unfamiliar with sports jargon to understand what is going on.
It also looks past the numbers and the sport painting a more meaningful portrait of someone who has experienced disheartening setbacks trying to not only win at the game, but also trying to win the game of life.
Backstory of Beane is told using poignant flashbacks from his younger days that show why he possesses fire and drive as an adult.
Beane eventually succeeds as a general manager by keeping a cool head yet was still vulnerable to a few emotional flare-ups during his low-points.
A better way to construct the script may have been to see what initially led to the outbursts instead of just dropping flashbacks at random points in the movie.
Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill make an odd but successful team driving the movie “Moneyball” forward with their excellent performances, and Philip Seymour Hoffman, as Art Howe, seemed to be the only one marginally displaced.
The role was ill-suited for Hoffman that only had a few appearances in the film and no major character development ultimately not using the actor’s talents nearly enough.
Nevertheless, the film makes good use of its strong main cast based on an inspiring true story.
Baseball fan or not, “Moneyball” is a solid film worth seeing.
Directed by Bennett Miller and adapted for the screen by Aaron Sorkin and Steven Zaillian, it stars Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Robin Wright, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Chris Pratt, and Kathryn Morris.
Rated PG-13, Moneyball opened in theaters Friday, Sept. 23, 2011.
My Grade: B
I am so glad that you apparently enjoyed the movie, and gave it a good grade, but your criticism seem a little unfair and off the mark..
…By saying that ‘..a better way to construct the script would have been to show what caused the innitial outbursts…’ ignores the obvious fact that Beane’s character has been dissillusioned by his inauspicious baseball career up to that point, and his missing a once in a lifetime opportunity to get his college education while young.
He also appears to be frustrated by what seems to be his inability to understand and be successful in a sport that is unpredictable, and for himself, seemingly impossible to master. This is in addition to his having to deal with the disappointment of his divorce, and his having to parent his daughter within the awkward construct of his wife’s new relationship.
All this justifies, or at least explains, why he would be on edge and perhaps explode from time to time. This angst is ultimately relatable and translatable to all our lives. Great film.
Also, your criticism of Phillip Seymour Hoffman being underused is unfair, as a broadening of his character would have made an already long film even longer. I didn’t mind the length of the film, but you critics seem to be lamenting it, while at the same time stating that other characters should have been explored. That’s nonsensical.
Brad Pitt’s ‘Billy Beane’ character study was enough, as we were obviously being given the story from HIS perspective….and that was fine with me. A plus!
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