Moneyball (2011) Review

Moneyball

Of all the movie genres out there, I can’t say that the sports genre is near the top of my list as a favorite. I usually like most of them, but very rarely do I flat-out love one. The only ones I really love are Slapshot, Miracle (hockey’s my favorite sport), Caddyshack, the recent Warrior, and boxing movies. But when I look at best sports movies lists, they are flooded with baseball movies everywhere. The Natural, The Bad News Bears (1974), and most of the ones with Kevin Costner are huge favorites in the genre. And yet, I can’t say most of them are my top favorites (except maybe A League of their Own). However, I was interested in Moneyball because it tries a different approach to the underdog formula by following the trials of the team-makers rather than the team itself.

Plot Synopsis: After losing star players Jason Giambi, Johnny Damon, and Jason Isringhausen, Oakland Athletics manager Billy Beane must figure out how to rebuild the team after losing to the New York Yankees in the 2001 postseason. While visiting the Cleveland Indians, he meets Yale economics graduate Peter Brandt, who has a radically different way of valuing players. Instead of using the old tactic of talent scouting, Brandt’s mathematics method is used to select players specifically on their on base percentage. But with the scouts and coach Art Howe seriously against his tactics, Beane is going to have a tough time proving this method works despite choosing seemingly lackluster players.

Right off the bat, I can easily lay praise on the main actors in the film, especially the pairing of Brad Pitt (Beane) and Jonah Hill (Brandt). The two have a remarkable chemistry together, which is surprising given that they are so different from each other. Pitt brings his usual, effortless charm and charisma to the film, but the reason we believe in the character is his complete conviction in sticking to his guns and never compromising his beliefs. Hill dials down his usually brash comic style to match Peter’s mousy personality, and he stands dramatically toe-to-toe with the more experienced Pitt. Most of the other characters don’t get much attention, although Philip Seymour Hoffman stands out as the disgruntled and frustrated Art Howe who’s always butting heads with Beane.

I can see most people taking a glance at the basic premise of the film and saying, “it’s about math? Why would I be excited in a movie about math?” This premise works mostly because of the sympathetic actors, although Aaron Sorkin and Steven Zaillian’s sharp and humorous script certainly does a lot of the heavy lifting. The movie never approaches laugh-out-loud funny, but there are a lot of little laughs and chuckles peppered throughout the film to lighten the mood. Sorkin and Zaillian certainly have an impressive pedigree (The Social Network for Sorkin and Schindler’s List for Zaillian), and their way with words helped me go through the slower parts of the film.

And boy is this movie slow. I said parts were slow before, but in reality the whole first two-thirds or so are really slow. Sometimes I could sense myself shifting in my seat, waiting for things to pick up or for scenes to end that should’ve ended a couple of minutes earlier. It wasn’t until the Athletics began to win games in the last third of the movie that I really got involved with the story. Part of the problem is that we don’t see the games in the beginning of the season where Beane and Brandt’s plan was backfiring on them. Instead, we are constantly reminded that they are losing through Art Howe or statistical standings, so there is little emotional investment in the events transpiring. An old rule of movies is to “show don't tell,” which this movie could’ve used more of. Had the plot moved faster, this wouldn’t have been as much of an issue, but it drags without completely drawing the audience in.

The Aaron Sorkin penned The Social Network was similarly emotionally distant and runs roughly the same amount of time as Moneyball, but is twice as involving and fast moving. It is clear that Bennett Miller, the director of the excellent Capote, is a skilled director, although he doesn’t have quite an invigorating style that David Fincher brought to The Social Network in order to carry us through the film. I wish I could’ve enjoyed Moneyball more, as it’s getting great praise from almost everyone. Nevertheless, it stands as a decent and different kind of sports film that could’ve used a better editor.

2.5/4    Rating Criteria