Directed by:
Bennett MillerCinematography:
Wally PfisterComposer:
Mychael DannaCast:
Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Robin Wright, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Chris Pratt, Tammy Blanchard, Jack McGee, Brent Jennings, Nick Searcy, Glenn Morshower (more)VOD (4)
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Columbia Pictures’ Moneyball is based on the true story of Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) – once a would-be baseball superstar who, stung by the failure to live up to expectations on the field, turned his fiercely competitive nature to management. Heading into the 2002 season, Billy faces a dismal situation: his small-market Oakland A’s have lost their star players (again) to big market clubs (and their enormous salaries) and he is left to rebuild his team and compete with a third of their payroll. Driven to win, Billy takes on the system by challenging the fundamental tenets of the game. He looks outside of baseball, to the dismissed theories of Bill James, and hires Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), a brainy, number-crunching, Yale-educated economist. Together they take on conventional wisdom with a willingness to reexamine everything and armed with computer driven statistical analysis long ignored by the baseball establishment. They reach imagination-defying conclusions and go after players overlooked and dismissed by the rest of baseball for being too odd, too old, too injured or too much trouble, but who all have key skills that are universally undervalued. As Billy and Peter forge forward, their new methods and roster of misfits rile the old guard, the media, the fans, and their own field manager (Philip Seymour Hoffman), who refuses to cooperate. Ultimately this experiment will lead not only to a change in the way the game is played, but to an outcome that would leave Billy with a new understanding that transcends the game and delivers him to a new place. (Columbia Pictures US)
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Reviews (14)
Very smart and cleverly directed, without unnecessary arrogance and artificially heightened emotions. A bit reminiscent of Any Given Sunday, but far less controversial. It must be said that Moneyball also relies on its actors, especially on Brad Pitt (he’s ageing like fine wine) and the young Jonah Hill (excellent potential). I lacks drive, but it's not that they forgot about it, it simply wasn't part of the plan. An unconventional sports film.
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I don’t understand baseball, I don’t even like it (I only know the Red Sox because of Stephen Kind and Lost) and I doubt that this sport has any sense to it. I like baseball bats (for personal reasons), but that’s not enough to make me able to watch a movie about baseball. So, who did all the work, who made me like the movie? Brad Pitt, who plays a guy who keeps on losing, but keeps on trying, makes bad decisions, knows that but still he keeps on trying until he takes a last, desperate step and starts to listen to a fat accountant. Perfect dialogs, decent humor, excellent actors. It couldn’t have been filmed better, in my opinion.
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Moneyball is a fantastically original and cleverly written, brilliantly directed story about inspiration and good intensions. I don’t care for baseball, but the message of this work rings true for any field – trust your instincts, follow your own path and don’t sell yourself short. Why didn’t Aaron Sorkin and Steven Zaillian set this behind the scenes in the world of filmmaking, which also relies on teamwork? That would have secured them some Oscars for sure. But that might happen anyway.
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Brilliant. I enjoy the hell out of these sports biopic dramas, whether it's basketball (Hustle), tennis (King Richard and Borg/Mcenroe, skiing (Eddie the Eagle), figure skating (I Tonya), car racing (Le Mans 66 and Rush). Mow I'm adding baseball to the collection thanks to Moneyball. I'm also one of those who will probably never understand the game, but that doesn't matter here, the sport itself doesn't matter that much, as it is about the behind the scenes of managers and player trading, which I surprisingly enjoyed – selling people in a different way. The whole idea of putting together a team of players that no one trusts just based on computer stats is awesome. Brad Pitt is excellent as usual, Jonah Hill is also fine, and they carry the film. The well-written dialogue, a few unexpected twists, the great direction and a thrilling finale make this a nice piece of filmmaking as well as an entertaining sports movie. Really great. 8/10.
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The final about half hour, when they “finally" started playing, almost didn't interest me anymore. Baseball is one of the sports that I know almost nothing about and actually don't want to know, so I guess it’s no wonder. I enjoyed most of Moneyball, though, because it wasn’t based on the players' game, but on the game of the actors (the unsurprisingly super Brad Pitt and very surprisingly super Jonah Hill) and on an elaborate screenplay that brought me into this strange world with confidence and ease and was able to entertain me well.
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