Moneyball (2011)
Moneyball isn’t just a sports movie, it’s a great movie, one that unlike most American movies, placed bright dialogue and ideas at its center.
Moneyball, Brad Pitt delivers adominant performance that defines thi dramatic picture.
It is based on Michael Lewis’ best-selling book that provides an account of the Oakland Athletics’ 2002 season.
The film details the strategy implored by the team’s general manager Billy Beane (Pitt) and assistant GM Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) to redevelop the way a Major League Baseball team is constructed, financially as well as philosophically.
With support from the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Chris Pratt, and others, Moneyball transcends the typical triumphant underdog sports film.
By investing in character development and strategy developed off the diamond, the film embraces the stoic, reserved nature of Pitt’s character.
Beane took pride in embracing new, pragmatic ways of thinking in a room full of naysayers and traditional baseball purists. “We’ve got to think differently,” Beane insisted as he knocked at a table surrounded by lifelong scouts.
In Pitt’s performance, his calm face spoke louder than a ferocious loudmouth ever could. Beane and Brand systematically built a game-winning team off of statistics and budget, rather than investing the entire franchise’s finances into players who were flashy, self-centered, or individually successful.
As Beane explains to his team, the two acted as card counters who were ready to get back at the casino — or teams with astronomical budgets and starpower. And perhaps the funnest quirks of Pitt’s character, he didn’t ever watch the games.
Oscar Context:
It was nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actor.
