MoneyballBy Wilson Morales
In a film directed by Bennett Miller and written by Steve Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, ‘Moneyball’ is beyond your average sports film. With phenomenal performances given by its key leads, Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill, the film works on multiple levels and can be considered as one of the best films of 2011. You don’t have to a baseball to enjoy this film. It’s pure, solid entertainment.
Based on the book ‘Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game’ by Michael Lewis, the film centers on Billy Beane (played by Pitt), general manager of the Oakland Athletics, who after losing key players to big market teams like the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox following the 2001 season, tried to change the game of baseball using a different approach to winning games.
Given a limited budget to work with and having to listen to veteran scouts go over the same routine in attracting new players to come to Oakland, Beane decided to against the fundamental ways of thinking by hiring a young executive from Cleveland with a economics degree from Yale, Peter Brand (played by Hill).
In bringing Brand to the team, the concept was that instead of winning games by replacing the players they lost such as Johnny Damon and Jason Giambi with players with similar numbers and salaries, Brand, following the statistical theory first presented by Bill James, figures that they can get multiple players with less attraction who have a higher percentage on getting on base and scoring runs. These are players so overlooked and cheap that it would be a steal if these produced at the level they should be at if given the exposure and confidence.
Not only does Beane follow that tactic, but he has to endure the wrath of executive members of the ballclub, as well as being ridiculed by the media when the plan doesn’t work initially. As time goes by, the emotional trauma that Beane suffered as a ballplayer in his early years start to haunt him and he himself questions his own motives until the theory starts paying dividends.
Zaillian and Sorkin couldn’t have written a better script. Instead of stuffing a ‘baseball for dummies’ scenario for non-baseball fans who may feel out of touch with the sports jargon, these guys just to got to the heart of the matter. The writing is smart and filled with intense moments and some humor. There’s no need to dial it down for anyone to feel connected. For as much as the world knows and reads about Brad Pitt and his personal life, here’s a film, where’s he’s totally immersed in the character. From the start of the film, he’s Billy Beane and he plays the role effervescently. As for Jonah Hill, he’s the scene stealer. At times, words weren’t needed to convey his emotions. The supporting cast of Philip Seymour Hoffman, who won his Best Actor Oscar in Miller’s film ‘Capote,’ Robin Wright, and Chris Pratt all give in solid acting.
While some of the scenes are embellished in the film and not factual, the film is still refreshing and first rate entertainment.
