Director: Bennett Miller
Starring: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Certificate: 12
Running Time: 128 minutes approx
Extras: Blooper with Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill, Billy Beane: Re-Inventing the Game, Moneyball: Playing The Game, Deleted Scenes, Drafting The Team, Adapting Moneyball, PS3 Wallpaper / Theme
Autumn 2001 is a time no baseball fan should ever forget; General Manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) had just seen his side managed by Art Howe (Seymour Hoffman) lose the American League Division Series to the New York Yankees. This defeat set in motion a program that would change Baseball forever. Sourced from Billy Beane’s book of the same title MONEYBALL (2011) is the story of this change.
Using a new business model, implemented by Beane and Peter Brand (Hill), the pair set about changing the Oakland As’ fortunes through statistics not money. I know what you’re thinking: sounds very talky, right? Fortunately, Bennett Miller is a director who loves dialogue; CAPOTE (2005) is a film so besotted with the English language it is impossible to ignore. With MONEYBALL, his second feature, he has trodden much the same path, hiring Aaron Sorkin (TVs THE WEST WING) and Steve Zaillian (GANGS OF NEW YORK) on script duty. This is imperative to the film given the lack of action and Baseballs absence of popularity outside of the US and Asia. Another achievement of this film are its performances; Jonah Hill’s a revelation in a quiet, thoughtful role, Philip Seymour Hoffman as the downtrodden team manager largely disrespected by Billy Beane is excellent – but this is Pitt’s film. It’s been well publicised that this is a labour of love for him, and whilst those three words have helped derail some of the greats – Oliver Stone’s ALEXANDER (2004) for one – it is a joy to see something handled so fluently and made so authentically.
MONEYBALL is a sports film from a distance, but get closer and it’s a story about economics, and if you get close enough to smell the chewing tobacco on Beane’s breath, and you’ll realise this is simply a story about a man trying to save the sport he loves, and whilst he’s at it you might find yourself falling in love as well.
Extras: The Blooper isn’t particularly funny, just three minutes of Brad Pitt laughing really, one for the ladies. The deleted scenes don’t add anything to the story. The Billy Beane documentary is in effect the film in a 15-minute package, convenient. Moneyball: Playing the game is a run-of-the-mill making of.
MONEYBALL is available on Blu-ray and DVD now
