Moneyball is supposedly based on a true story. Well, I did a bit of research (mostly because I'm anal and like to do research) and come to find out that almost everything in the movie is practically true which makes it a rarity within the hallowed halls of cinema. Most movies based on true stories really aren't. It's a great romantic subtitle to attach to your flick in order to gain some credibility and make the story more appealing. While everything isn't kosher, there's a lot here that actually happened.
That's pretty cool. Because some really cool stuff happens in the film.
If you don't know, Moneyball is the story of how a winning system of scouting players on a budget was developed by throwing out the old rules and the statistics that had mattered for almost a hundred years. It's a story of bucking the system not only because you have to (manager Billy Bean had a small budget to work with, especially when compared to rich teams like Hell's own New York Yankees) but because maybe the old system doesn't work, or maybe it's just time to try something new. The basic concept is to throw out all the stats that have nothing to do with simply getting on base and only pay attention to stats that ultimately show a player's ability for getting on base. You get players on base, you load bases, you earn runs and you win with runs. Interesting in theory and the idea has it's opponents as well as proponents.
All I'll say on the matter is that the Boston Red Sox broke their curse and won the World Series by using this method.
On a whole the movie is pretty enjoyable. There are some pace issues and I think some of the running time could have been cut a bit down, but that's not the real problem. The main (and to me only) problem with Moneyball is how little time we get to spend with the team. Most of the movie spends it's time telling us how the system will work and why it will work and which players will make it work. It keeps throwing the same information at us. That's all great, but that should be twenty minutes of set-up. We only slightly get to see it work and we never really get to know the team that is making it work. And that's the problem. Almost no time whatsoever is dedicated to getting to know the characters of the players, of the team. A stronger emotional connection was needed. Sure we care what happens or if the A's win or lose but only because we care what happens to Pitt's character. I would've cared even more if I had gotten to know the player's better and spent more time with them on the field. We could have taken fifteen minutes out of Pitt's screen time in order to make a stronger movie, a far more well rounded story.
I don't know, maybe having the movie focus on Bean was the wrong direction to take. Maybe they should have just focused on the team and used the Moneyball system as a backdrop to tell a great baseball story? Well that's all hypothetical so I won't get into that. The movie is what it is, a good story that was set-up as a Brad Pitt vehicle.
Throughout his career many people have pointed out the many similarities between Brad Pitt and Robert Redford. I don't think that Pitt has channeled Redford more in any other film than here. And that's not a bad thing. I love Robert Redford as an actor, and I know Pitt himself holds the man in high regard. It's just interesting to see Pitt play a very Redford-like character in a Redford-like movie. He's done it before, but this just had a certain mark on it.
Meanwhile Jonah Hill continues to prove that he's got more than just good comedic timing. I think it shows an amazing amount of bravery that he even auditioned for this role let alone signed on the dotted line and went toe to toe (acting wise) with Pitt. Here is some risk taking that I like while his buddy Seth Rogen over on my 50/50 review keeps doing the same thing. Never would have thought Hill would prove to be the more promising of the two. Huh...can't call 'em all...and still hoping Rogen will surprise me.
Overall, Moneyball has got a truly great premise and a great cast. It's a well made movie. It's just missing a bit of heart.
7 / 10
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