Moneyball

Baseball: America's past-time. Each spring the sport begins again with prospective recruits from around the nation being scouted, watched, and trained during spring training. Some recruits meet the expectations and others do not. However, one man: Bill James, came up with a way of optimizing the team called Sabermetrics, where players are chosen solely based on computer analyzed statistics.

Baseball as of late has turned into a game of money. Sabermetrics, in the right hands, can take the minimal salary cap and turn it into a winning team. This was the strategy employed by Billy Beane, which came to be known as Moneyball.

In his third film, Bennett Miller takes Michael Lewis' novel Moneyball and turns it into an enthralling movie experience. Chronicling the life of Billy Beane, played by Brad Pitt, as general manager of the Oakland Athletics, Moneyball shows the behind the scenes of a baseball team and shows what it takes to really be the general manager of a baseball team. After losing the ALDS to the Yankees and losing his star players, Billy Beane must rebuild his team. While looking for new players he meets a stats analyst, Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), and takes the idea of Sabermetrics and puts it into action.

Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill are atop their games in this film. It was amazing fun to watch. Making a baseball movie entertaining for people who are not huge followers of the sport is tough to do, but with these two holding the lead roles there was no doubt that it was possible. With this movie, Brad Pitt has at least thrown his hat in the ring for the Best Actor Oscar race. Jonah Hill should score a nomination for his supporting role. A meticulous, calculating man in his role as general manager who is a loving and supporting father in his familial role, Brad Pitt has surely made Billy Beane proud with his portrayal.

Not having read the book the script was great. There was only dialogue when it was needed. Very well could put the screenplay in the race for adapted screenplay. At 133 minutes and a fairly slow pace, the script keeps you into the movie the entire time teaching about Sabermetrics and interjecting Billy Beane's past. Very fun to watch. And with all of these nominations I'm throwing Moneyball into the ring for Best Picture.


Moneyball was incredible. I was not entirely sure what to expect going in and I was blown away. This movie has definitely placed itself in the top five of sports movies of all time. Definitely a must-see.

9/10