Directed by:
Bennett MillerCinematography:
Wally PfisterComposer:
Mychael DannaCast:
Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robin Wright, Chris Pratt, Stephen Bishop, Reed Diamond, Brent Jennings, Ken Medlock, Tammy Blanchard (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 (15)
A year after the world applauded Aaron Sorkin's screenplay for The Social Network, it was followed by yet another story full of rapid-fire dialogue, technical terms, and the suppression of obvious emotions to a minimum. Although comparing Facebook to baseball is difficult, this calculated approach and, for the author, this sure bet already Moneyball right from the beginning. And even though it looks almost effortless in its technically precise environment, and the occasional family scenes do work, I didn't get enough. I understand the pursuit of exceptionalism and the desire for a forgotten dream, but the film remains halfway between a profession of love for sports statistics and a demonstration that being a general manager is no joke. A sharp 70%, especially for one of Brad Pitt's career performances.
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The Social Network meets baseball. Without knowing the name of the (co-) screenwriter in advance, I read Sorkin's work in it. It is once again irreconcilable, reckless, verbose (towards the subject), at times coldly distant, yet full of respect for the "solitaire" who will change the world (of baseball). Enjoyment of the film will increase exponentially with the viewer's awareness of the game as such. But even if you know as much about baseball as I do, there are still a lot of lively-written and well-acted characters whose relationships and communication entice. The film didn't seem all that rational to me (I didn't understand it in detail), but emotionally it just works (at times, surprisingly, and I don't know why, the adult infantile relationship between Billy and his daughter evoked Coppola’s Nowhere). Moreover, apart from a few cliche slow-motion parts, I have to appreciate how spartan the whole thing is. No ultimate feel-good. Just "daddy, you’re such a loser"... A remarkable testimony about how things can be changed and (again) a film that is about a rebellion against those who say that there is no other way. Coincidence? You decide. :-)
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How much does winning cost? A few years ago, Pitt probably would have got the role of a top-tier baseball player. Because he has become more like Redford, in a good way (more serious material, a more serious expression), he now plays a guy who stands in the background. Less action, but no less ambition. For him, achieving success is of primary importance. If he didn’t succeed as an athlete, he wants to at least assert himself from a management position. Here he no longer has to consider others, because he is the one who hands out the checks. So why bother pretending and hiding his arrogant, choleric nature behind a nice mask? Not that he isn't a nice guy (with a few family stops), but he definitely doesn’t play "an American hero", always honest and infallible. For him, human beings are numbers that can, if necessary, simply be crossed out, in which I see a more distinct similarity to The Social Network, with the difference being that this time it’s not only about ones and zeros. The game played behind the scenes is more thrilling than those played on the baseball fields, to which this predominantly interior drama turns our attention only a few times. Will the humanistic, economic or compromise approach win out? The answer is not clear even after the closing minutes, of which there could be fewer (and which push the plot in a slightly different direction). The film avoids adoring Billy Beane, or rather what he personifies (the pursuit of personal happiness at the expense of others). Though the film borrows certain story elements from theatrical fairy tales (flashbacks, a game that has to be won), it actually coldly shows what these films about great victories are based on. (For example, the otherwise important character of the coach is pushed aside, which is evident in his positioning on the periphery of the shot and is emphasised by the "committed" performance of the excellent Philip Seymour Hoffman). Miller peels away the sporting veneer to reveal the cynical managerial drama hidden underneath. At the same time, there are no obstacles placed in the Remuda way of good old tugging at the heartstrings, which, on the other hand, is not assisted in any way (for example, by the soundtrack, whose primary purpose is to create tension). The ambivalent concept of the traditional assault on emotions is beautifully summed up by the daughter’s song, which Billy plays at the end. In short, it’s emotion with a “but…”, and with a lot of added value to think over. 80%
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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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