Moneyball Is Even Better Than You Remember

I revisited Moneyball on a whim mostly because of how much Ad Astra had given me a hankering to watch other quality Brad Pitt star vehicles. Having seen the film twice in its original theatrical release, I was very familiar with Moneyball, but I hadn't seen in it in about eight years. It was time for a rewatch. Sometimes coming back to a movie years later reveals that a film is lesser than you remember it being, your growth as a consumer of a cinema makes the cracks in a film you loved more apparent. Luckily, rewatching Moneyball was not one of those experiences. In fact, I garnered a whole new level of appreciation for this excellent feature and the qualities that make it as engrossing as it is.

For those unaware of what Moneyball is about, it's about the Oakland Athletics team in 2001. At this point in time, the team is in desperate need of an overhaul. The team's general manager, Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), doesn't just agree, he thinks more than just the team needs to be overhauled. In Billy's eyes, the whole method of choosing baseball players is outdated and in need of a modern-day update. This notion doesn't sit well his co-workers who hate the idea of there being a change in the routines they've been doing for decades. But Beane commits fully to a new idea brought forth by Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), one built upon the idea of creating an all-star baseball team out of underrated players and numbers.

It's an unorthodox pitch (no pun intended) but Billy sees the future here where others see merely lunacy. After all, his team is already in the pits, why not try something bold? The clearly discernible underdog nature of not just the Oakland Athletics team but Billy and Peter in trying to bring this new concept of assembling a baseball team lends Moneyball immediately compelling drama. Whenever the status quo gets upended, whether that's in baseball or just general society, people are not gonna take kindly to that. The new is to be feared and demonized, not looked at as a potentially viable option. Rooting the underdog nature of its lead characters into the struggle to give new ideas a chance is a brilliant move on the part of Moneyball's screenplay.

That script is penned by both Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, who deliver remarkably entertaining work in exploring the characters of Billy, Peter and their misfit team. The dialogue exchanges crackle with dialogue that's classic Sorkin while the quiet scenes depicting Billy trying to still be a part of his daughter's life lend depth to our protagonist through a sense of authenticity. This is especially apparent in a conversation between Billy, his ex-wife and her new husband, this exchange just reeks of awkwardness so discernable it makes you fidget in your seat. The memorable dialogue and engaging characters work together to create the element of this Bennett Miller directorial effort that's most impressive to me.

The way Moneyball creates engrossing cinema out of material that could be boring in the wrong hands is truly outstanding. It's a movie about math, numbers and baseball, three things I couldn't care less about in the real world. You could easily see a version of this film being as dry as a saltine cracker and about as interesting to watch. Yet, in the context of this movie, I was riveted. This is my third viewing of Moneyball and I was more captivated than ever when the Oakland Athletics were playing the game that could secure them a record-breaking streak of winning games! It's like I said a moment ago, the characters and dialogue are just so darn good that you can't help but be engrossed by their on-screen trials and tribulations.

Sorkin and Zaillian realize that all the baseball and math elements need to be in service of dramatically engaging characters and not the other way around. Much of the entertaining nature of the project also stems from some truly masterful editing by Christopher Tellefsen as well director Bennett Miller's work behind the camera. Both Tellefsen and Miller are able to walk that tightrope of creating visual sensibilities that aren't showy enough to distract from the grounded dialogue-heavy nature of the proceedings while consistently impressing you with their visual creativity. A montage depicting Billy Beane finally emotionally connecting with his players, for instance, is full of pieces of direction and editing that show real craftsmanship but they don't detract from the primary focus of the sequence which is the conversations between Beane and his players. Combine all of this great behind-the-scenes work with a pair of great lead performances from Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill and that's how you get a home run of a movie like Moneyball.