Moneyball DVD
Starring: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman,
Director: Bennett Miller
Rating: 4.5/5
Brad Pitt and Moneyball had the critics falling over themselves to praise it when it hit the big screen last year and this week sees it released on DVD & Blu-Ray.
Trust me when I say that you don't need to know a single thing about baseball, or even like the sport for that matter, to really get swept along in this story over trying to overcome the odds.
Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane (Pitt) challenges the system and defies conventional wisdom when he is forced to rebuild his small-market team on a limited budget.
Despite opposition from the old guard, the media, fans and their own field manager (Hoffman), Beane - with the help of a young, number crunching, Yale-educated economist (Hill) - develops a roster of misfits and changes the way the game is played forever.
Moneyball is a true underdog story that is intelligent, and funny as well as quite moving and follows the behind the scenes dealings of baseball rather than what goes on on the pitch.
It's a superb performance from Pitt as he takes on the role of Billy, a man who is expected to build a winning team on no money.
It's a no nonsense performance from the actor as Beane knows what he needs to do to achieve what he wants - I suppose he is not the most likeable character at times but you have to admire him for his guts and self-belief.
Jonah Hill is also great as Peter Brand, who has a whole different idea on what is needed to build a successful team.
It's great to see Hill move away from the comedy roles for which he has become synonymous and take on something with a little more bite.
Pitt & Hill work perfectly together as they nail every line that they were given.
Steven Zaillian & Aaron Sorkin have become accustomed to delivering top notch scripts and Moneyball is no different as this is just quality from start to finish.
It's a very rich story of second chances and defying the odds with some great characters at the heart of the story.
Having said that I would have loved to have seen more of Philip Seymour Hoffman as coach Art Howe, there is a real tension between him and Billy in the movie and that is perhaps not explored as fully as it might be,
Bennett Miller must be applauded for this movie as it really is an accomplished piece of filmmaking.
With Moneyball he has managed not only to refresh the biopic genre but also the sports drama - we haven't seen an true inspirational sports movie for some time. You don't need to know anything about baseball to get caught up in this wonderful drama as you see the struggle to survive, and how important that is to everyone, in every scene.
Moneyball is out on DVD & Blu-Ray now
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw