Moneyball (2011)

"Moneyball" is based on a true story about the Oakland Athletics Baseball team and their record winning streak of 2002. The film focuses on Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) who as the General Manager of the team must confront losing key players at the end of a disappointing season and faces the daunting task of rebuilding a demoralised unit on a shoe string budget. Enter, Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) an Economics Graduate fresh out of Yale who seems to have lost his way in to the world of baseball. Brand comes out with analysis based on sabremetrics, which identifies player potential against value and determines which players would best suit the limited budget allocated with out undermining the focus on winning. The idea though revolutionary and non-conformist is embraced by Beane and Brand is hired as the new Assistant General Manager. Things don't go as planned initially but eventually results begin to show and the Oakland A's then go on to a record winning streak. There really isn't much of a plot in there and this isn't your regular sports movie where you see the story culminating in a sensational win and ultimate glory for the team. The story focuses more on the struggle that Beane and Brand undergoes in taking forward their theory against old school support staff, a stubborn manager (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) and a confused team. One witnesses the wheelings and dealings that are part of modern sport these days and how players are exchanged with a snap of a finger with hardly any consideration to them or their families. In the expert hands of writer Aaron Sorkin (Social Network), what may have seemed as a drab account of baseball team on a winning spree is cleverly presented with all the drama, tension, heartbreak that one would normal expect from a court room drama. Pitt is excellent as the General Manager in a role that seems tailor made for him. The scene stealer though is Hill as the confident yet uncertain analyst. When he opens his mouth to present his analysis and highlight the flaws that exist in the business of baseball you feel like you're listening to the God of Baseball himself! I am not sure what Hoffman is doing in this, an actor of his calibre truly deserves better. It seems like he was returning a favour to Director Bennet Miller for "Capote". One of the best films of the year thus far and a must watch for serious film aficionados.