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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Based on real events in 2002, the film follows the unconventional tactics employed by Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), general manager of the cash-strapped Oakland Athletics baseball team, to rebuild his club after losing a few key players to the Major League. Beane enlists the services of Yale economics graduate Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) to devise an unorthodox player selection system based on a sophisticated statistical analysis of each player's skills. As Billy and Peter start to build their team based on computer-generated data rather than the traditional scouting methods, they meet with resistance from old hands such as team manager Art Howe (Philip Seymour Hoffman). But when the club begins a winning streak with its roster of inexpensive 'wild card' players, the naysayers are forced to admit that the scheme appears to be working. (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
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Reviews (14)
Statistics are boring, but carry valuable information and in the form of a baseball version of The Social Network, it isn’t boring at all. This is as much about baseball as Fincher is about Facebook; in other words, not at all. Despite this, this category is still ruled by The Damned United which is basically the same in a more inventive form of directing and, thanks to the setting, is also a little closer in cultural terms for a European.
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The best and most entertaining baseball film I’ve ever seen. Before watching it, I wasn’t expecting it to deliver a great experience because baseball is all Dutch to me, but the fears were unwarranted. Brad Pitt’s great performance and the equally great script didn’t allow my attention to stray away. Thumbs up and I’m rooting for Brad at the Oscars.
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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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The best sports-themed film in years. It doesn't matter if you understand baseball or have a relationship with the sport itself, Sorkin's brilliant (again) script is all about passion for the cause, boundless faith in one's own judgement and in what one is doing, despite the risk of losing one's credit. The interactions between Pitt and Hill are a joy to watch. All this without annoying clichés and fake spectacular scenes that would make a stone cry (see e.g. Warrior).
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A year after the world applauded Sorkin's screenplay for The Social Network, another story full of rapid-fire dialogues, technical terms, and a suppression of obvious emotions to a minimum came. Although comparing Facebook to baseball is difficult, this calculated approach and, in the case of the author, this quick bet on certainty already undermines Moneyball from the very beginning. And even though it looks almost effortless in its technically precise environment and occasional family scenes can work, I didn't get enough of it. I understand the pursuit of exceptionalism and the desire for a forgotten dream, but the film remains halfway between a love confession for sports statistics and a demonstration that being a general manager is no joke. Precise 70%, especially for one of Brad Pitt's career performances.
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