Moneyball
The movie is slow -- sometimes delightfully, sometimes painfully. In that respect, it mirrors the game the film covers. But baseball is not the main theme of the film; redemption and the pain of chasing ones own ghosts serves that role. Billy Beane (played masterfully by Brad Pitt) is out to prove to the baseball establishment that they're not selling jeans. What he means by that is there is more to winning in the game than how things look. The Yankees are glamorous in every aspect. They look great, they pay the most and they play in the biggest media market in the world. The reality is, Oakland is not New York, ergo the Athletics are not the Yankees. But does that mean they can't compete? No. But it does require them to channel their inner Steve Jobs and "think differently".
The backlash Beane (in the film) takes for this approach is enormous and omnipresent. The media (presented mostly through V.O. across radio and television airwaves) is a constant critic. When the Athletics do achieve their most unlikely success, in the form of the record-setting 20 game win streak, Manager Art Howe (played brilliantly by Philip Seymour Hoffman) is heaped with credit.
The cinematography is deliberate, dark and moody, matching Beane's mindset throughout. The tone is given brief reprieve by Beane's heartfelt visits with his daughter. She serves to anchor Beane and humanize him beyond what we see on screen as a maniacally driven hot head whose take-no-prisoners approach is meant to prove somebody, anybody and perhaps everybody wrong all at once. It works and is a welcome balancing device.
The comparisons between this film and The Social Network are noteworthy. They both have influence of Aaron Sorkin as writer (Sorkin is co-writer here with Steve Zaillian). They both feature brilliant minds who are at once insiders and outsiders trying to change the system in their favor. Zuckerberg, of course, has much greater outward success in the scope of that film -- going from Harvard undergrad to internet mogul in the scope of two-plus hours of screen time. Beane, on the other hand, ends up not far from where he began, in one respect -- having lost the last game of the season in the playoffs. On the other hand, he has done enough to receive an offer from the Boston Red Sox to make him the highest paid General Manager in all of sports. He turns it down (though it should be noted in reality, he accepted that offer, briefly, before ultimately turning it down and returning to the A's).
Jonah Hill's character "Peter Brand" (in quotes, because the main real-life person he is modeled after, Paul DePodesta, refused to have his name used in the film) is the impetus to Beane's change (in the movie). Though, again, that's not how it happened in real life, his presence and the way Beane found and plucked him from the Cleveland Indians makes for good drama. Hill's performance was remarkably restrained and an excellent foil to Beane's manic drive.
The most surprising thing to me about this film is the reception it has gotten. That's not because I don't think it's a great film -- I do. It just feels so inside to me. I'm a huge A's fan, and have been so since the early 1980's (early enough to remember Beane as a player). Watching this film with my wife, I felt compelled to press pause to explain things to her several times. She listened, nodded and asked more questions. But I wonder if, left to her own devices, she would have seen things that I didn't because of my bias. Director Bennett Miller presented a wonderfully patient film in which the mood, acting, story and cinematography were all consistent. The action was small, simple and effective.
Finally, regarding its chances as an Oscar contender -- about as good as the A's chance of winning the World Series this year. That's no knock on the film or anyone's work within it, it's just not an Oscar-winning film. But then again, nobody knows Hollywood.
Resonance: 8/10
The backlash Beane (in the film) takes for this approach is enormous and omnipresent. The media (presented mostly through V.O. across radio and television airwaves) is a constant critic. When the Athletics do achieve their most unlikely success, in the form of the record-setting 20 game win streak, Manager Art Howe (played brilliantly by Philip Seymour Hoffman) is heaped with credit.
The cinematography is deliberate, dark and moody, matching Beane's mindset throughout. The tone is given brief reprieve by Beane's heartfelt visits with his daughter. She serves to anchor Beane and humanize him beyond what we see on screen as a maniacally driven hot head whose take-no-prisoners approach is meant to prove somebody, anybody and perhaps everybody wrong all at once. It works and is a welcome balancing device.
The comparisons between this film and The Social Network are noteworthy. They both have influence of Aaron Sorkin as writer (Sorkin is co-writer here with Steve Zaillian). They both feature brilliant minds who are at once insiders and outsiders trying to change the system in their favor. Zuckerberg, of course, has much greater outward success in the scope of that film -- going from Harvard undergrad to internet mogul in the scope of two-plus hours of screen time. Beane, on the other hand, ends up not far from where he began, in one respect -- having lost the last game of the season in the playoffs. On the other hand, he has done enough to receive an offer from the Boston Red Sox to make him the highest paid General Manager in all of sports. He turns it down (though it should be noted in reality, he accepted that offer, briefly, before ultimately turning it down and returning to the A's).
Jonah Hill's character "Peter Brand" (in quotes, because the main real-life person he is modeled after, Paul DePodesta, refused to have his name used in the film) is the impetus to Beane's change (in the movie). Though, again, that's not how it happened in real life, his presence and the way Beane found and plucked him from the Cleveland Indians makes for good drama. Hill's performance was remarkably restrained and an excellent foil to Beane's manic drive.
The most surprising thing to me about this film is the reception it has gotten. That's not because I don't think it's a great film -- I do. It just feels so inside to me. I'm a huge A's fan, and have been so since the early 1980's (early enough to remember Beane as a player). Watching this film with my wife, I felt compelled to press pause to explain things to her several times. She listened, nodded and asked more questions. But I wonder if, left to her own devices, she would have seen things that I didn't because of my bias. Director Bennett Miller presented a wonderfully patient film in which the mood, acting, story and cinematography were all consistent. The action was small, simple and effective.
Finally, regarding its chances as an Oscar contender -- about as good as the A's chance of winning the World Series this year. That's no knock on the film or anyone's work within it, it's just not an Oscar-winning film. But then again, nobody knows Hollywood.
Resonance: 8/10
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