"Moneyball" Review

“Moneyball” is a sports drama, about Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), the general manager of the Oakland A’s, and how he and Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) turned one of the cheapest clubs of the MLB, into a record setting team using math.  That’s right math.  Moneyball successfully makes math interesting, and also mixes it in with sports and makes it seem natural.
Let’s face it.  Brad Pitt is getting kind of old.  I don’t know if it was the make-up of the movie, but he looked run down.  Every now and then, you would catch a glimpse of Tyler Durden, but for the most part, his eyes were sad, and it looked as if he was done playing eccentric roles like in Fight Club, 12 Monkeys, and Inglourious Basterds.  I really hope it was just the make-up, or that Pitt was just making himself appear that way.  Though I would be happy if Pitt continues with roles like this, as it was great.  Hopefully, Brad Pitt will be a front runner for the Oscars, because I really want to see him get an academy award.  Moneyball is in some ways Brad Pitts coming of age movie.  There are no themes of this in the movie, but it seems like the actor himself is now settling down, and coming to grips wit himself.
As for Jonah Hill, he is in regular form, as the funny guy, although now it seemed he was slightly less awkward.  Maybe the weight loss is boosting his confidence.
I was kind of worried about it, but Moneyball avoids cliche, and is unlike any sports movie I have seen before.  I was not expecting Moneyball to delve into the mathematics and statistics behind what Beane did, and was expecting most of the action to take place on a field, and not in an office.  Now the math might seem like a turn-off, but it is actually interesting how everything works out.  
I'll admit. I am not much of a sports fan.  I can’t tell you anything about football, and I couldn’t remember what actually happened when Moneyball took place.  But Moneyball kept me intrigued.  Moneyball made me care about sports for two hours, and actually had me researching a little bit about the Oakland A’s.  If you are a sports fan, specifically baseball, you may enjoy this film a little more than me.
My only complaint with the film, which doesn’t even concern the quality of the film, is how underused Phillip Seymour Hoffman is.  He probably had about 10 minutes of screen time throughout the entire movie, and I’m a fan of his, so I was hoping to see more.  His character could have easily been played by an unknown actor.
In Moneyball, there was a message, of how even if you succeed, some people won’t remember you or give you credit, just because you didn’t “win”.  If you contribute greatly to a cause like Billy Beane, you will still be branded a loser.  Moneyball is a great baseball drama which benefits from Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill, and successfully avoid sports cliches, and makes statistics just as interesting as the action itself.