Moneyball, directed by Bennet Miller and written by Aaron Sorkin (writer of ‘The Social Network’) is based off a book ‘Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game’ written by Michael Lewis. Moneyball is a true story about the Oakland A’s and general manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) along with his assistant Peter Brand (Jonahh Hill) and their attempt to put together a baseball team with one of the smallest budgets in Major League Baseball. To do this they use a system that was developed by a man named Bill James who took out the human aspect of looking at players and strictly looked at the numbers. In the movie Billy Beane tries to find a competitive advantage that is both effective and cheap. So with the help of his assistant Peter Brand they use a computer generated analysis to find players that are underrated and overlooked by everyone.

Moneyball is not your typical baseball movie, its more than just baseball; it’s about the game within the game; about Billy Beane as he faces the struggle of trying to succeed against the rich powerhouse teams in the MLB like the Yankees with a budget that is one third the size ($114 million vs. $39 million). Moneyball looks more at the business management side of the sport rather than just what happens on the field. Showing the interaction, tension, and drama between the owner, general manager, scouts, players, as well as other teams, Moneyball will get you into the drama; feeling the emotions of what the characters themselves feel.

Brad Pitt is great as Billy Beane, a complex and emotional character who was once a star prospect coming into the league straight out of high school only to be a huge bust in the MLB who then takes over the general managers role in Oakland. Pitt helps you feel the emotions and struggles of trying to compete with a small budget, constantly working, along with trying to raise a 12 year old daughter all at the same time in a dysfunctional and separated family. Supporting Pitt is Jonah Hill who plays Billy Beanes right hand man, Peter Brand, a quiet, reserved individual who graduated from Yale with a degree in Economics, came up with an equation that rates players by a single number. Hill plays his role very well showing that he can do more than just his comedy type of character. Some other notable actors include Philip Richard Seymore who plays the A’s manager – Art Howe, Robin Wright, and Chris Pratt.

So in conclusion Moneyball is definitely a movie that is worth seeing whether you are a baseball fan or not. It isn’t a movie about baseball, this movie is a story that goes much deeper than the game itself. Moneyball is great in all aspects – an entertaining and engaging story, interesting characters, solid acting, a great script, and good cinematography. I definitely recommend checking it out!

“Moneyball is one of the best and most vicerally exciting films of the year.” – Rolling Stone

“Its hard to imagine anyone but Mr. Pitt in the role. He’s relaxed yet edgy and sometimes unsettling.” – The New York Times