Moneyball weaves the tale of Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) during the 2002 season. After the 2001 season, three of the A's biggest players (Jason Giambi, Johnny Damon, and Jason Isringhausen) left for bigger market teams. Beane was struggling for answers with a low payroll and scouts that didn't see the bigger picture of building a championship team. Beane's solution is bringing in Yale graduate Peter Brandt (Jonah Hill) as his assistant general manager. Brandt brought in a unorthodox tatic to sign undervalued players that were overlooked by other teams for cheaper money. The tatic is know as "moneyball". The system had a lot of critics, but the critics were silenced once the approach turned into wins for the A's.
Moneyball is a near-perfect sports film. It's brilliantly acted, written, and directed. Brad Pitt is in top-form as Billy Beane. He makes Beane a multi-dimensional character that the audience really wants to see succeed. Even (normally) comedic actors like Jonah Hill and Chris Pratt do a great job in their respective roles. This was a nice change of pace for both of them and showed off that their acting skills translated to serious roles. The strongest part of Moneyball though is the script. It gets very in-depth to not only the A's season, but Beane's failed playing career and his relationship with his daughter. It was a fascinating approach and really made this film very well-rounded.
Moneyball is a winner. It paints the entire picture of the 2002 Oakland A's with a sense of authenticity while remaining highly entertaining. When it comes to sports drama, this in the top-tier. It's very well-made and acted from all points. Moneyball is a film that I won't be forgetting about at the end of the year and is almost a lock for my year-end top 10.
4.5/5 Stars
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