Review of the film Moneyball

            General Manager Billy Beane can't watch the baseball games he has laid so much time and energy into winning.  Instead, he drives around the city turning on and off the radio to catch bursts of commentary and updates. He can't be there to witness his team's performance; there's too much riding on this, he's put too much of his life into it and risked his family and livelihood. He is the general manager for the Oakland A's in the 2002 baseball season and his team hasn't had a winning record in many years. Beane has overhauled the team and put faith in the art of statistics. It doesn't sound like the makings of a rousing film, but I was genuinely surprised by how invested in Moneyball I became due to the great performances and snappy, witty dialogue and ideas.

            Director Bennett Miller (Capote) adapts the best-selling book with the help of screenwriters Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network) and Steven Zaillian (Gangs of New York). I didn't understand all of the game being described and I've never been good with statistics, but there was more than numbers being discussed in this film. At one time, Beane had been a hot prospect in the baseball world. He was young and well-built, handsome and intelligent, with a mighty swing. But his major league career proved a bust, he literally choked at the opportunity, and the memories of potential never fulfilled have stayed with him into his general managing. Beane, played by Brad Pitt, knows firsthand what those scouts and other managers he constantly argues with still haven't gotten: that the Billy Beanes of the world have little place in the modern baseball stadium. It takes more than a good jawline and a strong stance to win in a league where the Yankees annual budget is three times that of the Oakland A's. Beane hires a young, brilliant statistician named Peter Brand, played by Jonah Hill,  with a knack for crunching player numbers and a deep affection for the game. Then Beane goes about the opening of the 2002 season looking for undervalued but statistically successful players that fit into the team's budget instead of big ticket names that would suck the payroll dry.

            After a lot of firing and hiring, the A's are back in playoff position with a 20 game winning streak. It's a great achievement and has roused the Oakland baseball fans out of their languor with a big league record. It seems that Beane's statistically savvy angle on the game rings true. However, one could say that this streak is a statistical anomaly that should be thrown out with the bath water along with all the other baseball superstitions. But there's a true sense of enjoyment to be had in the A's underdog triumph. Even stats fans can love the game when played well.  The statistics explain only so much, and I could see that as I watched the actors who peopled Moneyball with their nuanced portrayals. It's in the eyes and the spaces around the whip smart words. Math can only explain so much.