Moneyball (2011) is my personal #1 baseball film in history and one of the best sports movies ever. That's lofty praise I know, so let me explain why now. I love baseball, and I watch it all the time. Go Braves!
Based on a true story, we follow Billy Beane attempting to rebuild the Oakland Athletics baseball team. Peter Brand, a new employee, helps him utilize new technology to find the diamond in the ruff ballplayers. Drawing from this and the Moneyball book by Michael Lewis, we have our story.
In the early 2000s, the way scouting was done hadn't changed causing small-market teams to suffer under large-market ones. For comparison, the 2019 Chicago Cubs spent over $211 million on payroll while the Tampa Bay Rays spent only some over $53 million. That's the power of market size. However, who made the playoffs last year? Cubs? No. Rays? Yes. Now that's the power of baseball technology pioneered from the 2002 Oakland A's.
Based on Bill James game-changing book on new baseball statistics, Brand (Jonah Hill) is attempting to bring baseball into the next era. Hill was a great casting choice. Many people today already know of his acting range, but he was mainly a comedic performer in 2011. I didn't see this film until recently, and I remember thinking it was a weird choice. I was very wrong. He earned a supporting acting nomination and has another since this film's release too.
The director, Bennett Miller, did a great job of getting the most from his actors. One of the most natural scenes included the board room meetings. I felt like I was watching a real group of men argue about which free agents they should be signing. Also, I enjoyed the use of real footage combined with recreations. Plus, it didn't hurt to have future superstar Chris Pratt in a supporting role.
Brad Pitt was a fantastic choice to be Billy Beane (nominated for Best Actor). He gave an understated performance which he just won for one of those in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (click here for review). By performing in this capacity, his scenes with emotion make it that much more impactful. Also, every scene with his daughter (played by Kerris Dorsey) makes you remember he has more to work for than just his team.
Something that Brad Pitt's character exclaims is true to a degree. No matter how amazingly you perform that season, you won't be remembered if you don't win the last game. I understand this after seeing the Braves win their division but not that last game. The movie used real commentator audio or at least recreated the same words that showed how much people didn't want the game to change. One such man said it was a failed experiment by the A's that wouldn't work. "You can't use stats and decimals to decide a roster." Billy Beane may have started believing that for a short time until... he truly changed the game. Every team began to implement this, and it changed how baseball was run.
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