By Rachel Ambelang
Contributor
“Moneyball” is the remarkable, true story of a man that risks everything.
Billy Beane (played by Brad Pitt) is the general manager of the Oakland Athletics, which means that he is in charge of contracting the players he believes his team needs in order to have a winning season.
Billy’s main setback is the A’s budget constraints.
The story begins with the A’s losing their last game of the season, the only one that matters to Billy. On top of that, he receives news that he is going to lose his top three players next season to bigger franchises.
Billy knows that not only can he not afford to compete with the salaries being offered to his players, but also that there is no chance of replacing their talent.
While desperately looking for a way to put together a team that he can pay for, Billy meets a seemingly out of place young man named Peter Brand.
Brand is portrayed by Jonah Hill. The character is based on several real life figures, although Brand himself does not actually exist. One of the inspirations for his character is Paul DePodesta.
Brand is a 25-year-old with his first job as a player analyst. While talking to Brand, Billy finds out he has developed a new way to think about players. Brand has invented a computer system that can calculate statistically what a player’s strengths are, and from those numbers can tell where and how a player can be used effectively.
So far, everyone has tossed Brand’s system aside because he is new to the game and has no recruiting experience, but Billy decides to take a chance on him. Together they roll the dice and come up with a team of undervalued, out-of-date and injured players they claim will win the championship.
The performances given by both lead actors were spectacular. Pitt is an acclaimed household name that everyone expects the best from, and he gives it in this film.
Hill, who is better known for his roles in comedies such as “Superbad,” was trying something new with his first major role in a drama film, and I was blown away by how well he pulled it off.
Between the superb acting and how well this true story was adapted to the big screen, “Moneyball” is an inspiring movie that makes you leave the theater thinking about whether or not there is something you believe in enough to truly fight for.
Reviews in the Lariat represent only the viewpoint of the reviewer and not necessarily those of the rest of the staff. Please send comments to lariat@baylor.edu.
