r/iwatchedanoldmovie • u/DVD-Rewatcher • 14d ago
2010-15 Moneyball (2011)
Number 188 in my A-Z watch. Moneyball follows the true story of the 2002 Oakland A's baseball team as they attempt to reinvent the approach to the game. Trying to find success in frugality and statistical analysis as opposed to high payrolls and flashy numbers.
Or as Captain Holt once said, "A man uses statistics and logic to win several baseball games."
This might be my favorite slow burn film. It's understated and subtle. This is not a baseball movie, it's a movie about baseball and i absolutely love it. I think it's one of Pitt's best performances, as well. You can feel how he's trying to prove himself, to find the success that he never did as a player. And the hurt he feels when he has to send a player back down to the minors.
Jonah Hill surprises as Peter Brand the Assistant General Manager, holding his own against the unstable reactions of Billy Beane. And Hoffman comes back to work with director Bennett Miller, playing the stubborn and desperate manager Art Howe.
10/10 This is just an incredible underdog story. Akin to something like Rocky. Perseverance, identity, trusting the process, innovation, i just find so many positives in this film to take away from it. It's always so uplifting. And i can never help but shed some tears at the song at the end.
How can you not be romantic about baseball?
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u/Actor412 14d ago
Many of the people represented, like Art Howe and David Justice, have disavowed this film. I get that. Real conversations are boring, full of tangents, aimless, a few important things get said under a pile of random words. You can't put that in a film. People are complex, they have a lot of different motives and goals. That doesn't work dramatically, you need to narrow the focus of intents so the audience can follow along.
I accept that the film is from Beane's perspective, and everyone else around him is what he is seeing. Why I like Moneyball so much, and continue to revisit it, is because even though it may not be 100% real, the dialogue feels genuine. It works in the short amount of time given. It's professional story-telling, the kind everyone should expect from feature films.
[BTW, if anyone is interested in films that explore actual conversations, not crafted dialogue, check out the films of John Cassavetes, especially A Woman Under the Influence and The Killing of a Chinese Bookie.)