Moneyball is an adaptation of the 2003 book which covered several subjects, most importantly the true story of Oakland Athletics General Manager and former player Billy Beane, who shook up his team and consequently the world of baseball around 2002. In The film, Beane is played by Brad Pitt, whose nomination for best actor is well deserved. Pitt steals every scene in this movie, when he’s not sharing the spotlight with fellow nominee Jonah Hill, who plays Beane’s assistant GM Peter Brand. All of their scenes together are delightfully fun to watch, even when they’re just sitting behind a computer talking strategy and statistics.
The film goes to great lengths to appeal to those in the audience who are not baseball fans. For one thing, all scenes dealing with the intricacies of how and why Billy is rebuilding the Athletics are easy to understand, and in most cases, are enjoyable to watch. For another thing, the film is foremost a character study of Beane. According to the film, much of Beane’s motivation for rebuilding the Athletics by disregarding conventional wisdom comes from his past as a failed #1 prospect. The scenes of young Billy (Reed Thompson) choosing to sign with the Mets and subsequently struggling on the field before finally giving up playing are powerfully dramatic and I would go so far as to call them the glue that holds the film together.
As I said, I will be rooting for Moneyball in The Oscars, but it’s long shot since it’s competing against Hugo in 4 categories and other Oscar favorite The Artist in 3. Still, Moneyball is definitely worthy of it s nominations and absolutely worth watching.
By Colin V
