
Moneyball (USA) Directed by Bennett Miller Written by Aaron Sorkin; Steve Zaillian Starring Brad Pitt; Jonah Hill; Phillip Seymour Hoffman; Robin Wright Penn; Chris Pratt; Spike Jonze; Kerri Dorsey; Robert Kotick
Based on Michael Lewis’ 2003 book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, Moneyball is made in the same vein as another recent popular film based on a non-fiction bestseller, The Social Network. Perhaps this should come as no surprise since both well-crafted scripts bear the stamp of Aaron Sorkin (this time sharing credit with Steve Zaillian (American Gangster; Schindler’s List), who wrote a polish on the initial script). Like David Fincher before him, Director Bennett Miller (Capote) manages to take recent history and spin it in such a way that the events never seem boring, or drawn out, or cliche.
On paper, a film about the General Manager of the 2001 Oakland A’s and his battle to compete in an unfair economic landscape, really shouldn’t work, which is partly why this project took so long getting to the screen. Once upon a time Stephen Soderbergh was set to direct, but the plug was pulled some five days before shooting was to begin due to controversy over Soderbergh’s own version of the script, which relied heavily on interviews with real life people, and eliminated fictionalized elements.
When one thinks about it, Moneyball takes many of the conventions of the traditional sports pic - that is, it gives us a rag tag bunch of misfits who no one believes in; a flawed, but ultimately selfless leader, driven by demons, who goes out on a limb to prove something to himself; a cutesy kid who wants to spend more time with her father; a crusty coach and bottom line owner, and so and so on… and yet…
In film it’s all about tone. And Sorkin/Miller et al understand that there is beauty to be derived in the very basic idea of a good tale told well. Thus, although all of the usual plot devices may be hanging out for all to see, the film somehow feels fresh. Perhaps, in part, it’s the depiction of the main characters and the way they relate to one another - the fact that Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) is obviously a lonely man, and yet the subject isn’t something that is ever actually discussed; the odd working friendship that develops between he and assistant Peter Brand (in real life, Paul DePodesta, who unlike Hill’s character was an ex-college player/scout), played by, Jonah Hill, that never gets sappy; Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s nifty portrayal of Manager Art Howe (who has complained about being inaccurately portrayed), and the way that his interaction with Beane is played for some laughs, but never allowed to verge into parody.
The film itself is sweeping in the sense that it covers a year or so in time pass, using woven flashbacks to cover Beane’s personal history, but ala The Social Network, screen graphics, and key inserts help to provide pace and feed us lots of information in a clever way. Under the eye of DP Wally Pfister (The Dark Knight; Inception), there are a host of nicely composed shots of Beane alone in contemplation, real and constructed baseball highlights, empty parks, a hitter in a batting cage, all married in an a masterful editing job (Christopher Tellefsen) that deserves to be noted.
The rest of the cast, which includes Robin Wright Penn, Chris Pratt, and Spike Jones (in an amusing cameo), is solid as well, though it all revolves around Pitt (who fought to bring the story to the screen and is one of the producers), who manages to convey the affable, cocky manner of an ex-jock, easygoing and smiling, but with an intense desire to win boiling underneath the facade. Pitt’s partner in crime, Hill (in his first big dramatic role), also proves to be an excellent choice, doing his deadpan best as a nerdy Sabermetric guy from Yale who Beane plucks from The Cleveland Indians. Their scenes together are some of the best in the film.
Though clearly a number of liberties were taken with the real life events (e.g. in real life the A’s had one of the best pitching staffs in baseball), Miller chooses to employ a host of non-professional actors, who work well to create an authentic feel. The scenes at the table with Beane’s grizzled team of scouts are examples of getting solid performances from non actors, something that can only be accomplished by a skilled director. Likewise, the baseball scenes range from stylized to doc-like, but the look and feel always comes across as intentional, as opposed to so many sports films that, hampered by budget or actors who aren’t athletes, wind up reading false. Ultimately, Miller delivers an impressive meld of realism and stylization, an alchemy that more often than not proves difficult to achieve.
Moneyball has its flaws - several scenes with Beane’s aspiring musician daughter (Kerri Dorsey) come dangerously close to schmaltz, recalling similar ones repeated in Showtime’s Californication; and while Pitt is certainly a handsome man, there are at least a couple too many beauty shots of him brooding, driving by himself, and sitting in an empty park (we get it already, he’s haunted by his past failures and wants to succeed); and of course there is little attention paid to the fact that, unlike other small market teams like The Tampa Bay Rays; and Florida Marlins, Beane has never been able to win a championship. There is little doubt, however, that this will stand as one of the better films coming out of Hollywood this year.