REVIEW: Moneyball (2011)

Even though I'm not a big sports fan (I do live and die by football, but nothing else really) I love sports movies.  Who doesn't love a good underdog story?  I'm a total sucker for movies like The Blind Side and Invincible, but I get a little queasy around overly saccharine crap like Rudy and Remember the Titans.  Then there are the ones that really stand out as masterpieces such as The Natural, Hoosiers and Rocky.  Then there's dreck like Any Given Sunday and Ali that never should have seen the light of day.


Moneyball tells the story of how the Oakland A's took a mathematical approach to rebuilding a baseball team.  A ballsy (no pun intended) story to try to adapt to film, but with some star power and Oscar-winning screenwriters behind the scenes, why not give it a go?

The Good

• Brad Pitt can take even the most predictable sounding role and mold it into a masterful performance.  What could have easily been a by-the-numbers character is changed into a superstitious, stressed out and skeptical Billy Beane.  Pitt gives the character little nuances and tics to make him seem more human and it results in an unreal performance, easily one of the best of the year.
• More kudos goes to Jonah Hill as well!  If I hadn't seen Hill in anything but this film, I would never know he built his chops as a comedic actor.  He plays the straight man perfectly and even lets himself go a few times (especially when he and Pitt are together in scenes).  Congrats to him on a well-deserved Oscar nod.
• The story is fascinating, even more so knowing that it is true!  Usually when I see a sports movie claim it was "based on a true story" I wince, because it is obvious how many liberties will be taken so that people will see it.  This movie did not have that feeling in the least.  It had a very deliberate and natural flow, and it demanded you pay attention.  Thanks to Aaron Sorkin and Steen Zaillian for writing such a smart and engaging film.

The Bad

• With the exception of Scott Hattenburg and David Justice (and the two leads of course), there weren't any other roles that were really fleshed out.  It makes it easier to keep track, but a movie of this length could have done with some more characters.
• Now that I think about it, even the character of Art Howe (the reluctant A's manager played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman) was relegated to a VERY supporting role.  They really had nothing more for him to do?  I would consider PSH an actor to waste.  Also somewhat wasted in this film?  Robin Wright Penn, who we maybe saw for five minutes as Billy's ex-wife.
• Although expertly written, I did have some issues with the pacing.  Some scenes seemed overly long and pretentious, much like the director's other notable film Capote.

The end result is a throughly engaging film with some dynamite performances and a great original story, something the sports genre desperately needed.

Rating- 8/10

Up next is a break from the Oscar race in the form of Liam Neeson throat punching wolves in The Grey.  Look for that review soon, but in the meantime comment if you get the chance!