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Moneyball (2011) Review

Director: Bennett Miller
Writer: Aaron Sorkin and Steven Zaillian

Genre: Sports/Drama

3.5 Cookies

Glass of milk - Brad Pitt

Glass of milk - Jonah Hill

“How can you not be romantic about baseball?”

When I saw The Social Network last year, one of my first reactions (after, “Wow, that was like the best movie ever!”) was that I could not wait to see the next movie written by Aaron Sorkin. When I heard that Sorkin was teaming up with Steven Zaillian (Schindler’s List), to write a movie about baseball, I was excited. When I heard that this baseball movie, written by Aaron Sorkin and Steve Zaillian, starred Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman, I was ecstatic. When I saw the final product, I was thrilled that it lived up to my self-imposed hype.

Moneyball, directed by Bennet Miller (Capote), is the story of the 2002 Oakland A’s, and how general manager Billy Beane attempted and succeeded to reinvent baseball so that cash strapped teams could compete with the rich teams, by using computer analysis and stats.

The movie opens with the A’s losing to the New York Yankees in the final game of the 2001 American League Division Series. A title card flashes on screen that reads: $114,457,768 vs. $39,722,689 (the salary of the Yankees vs. the salary of the A’s). Oakland’s three best players (Jason Giambi, Johnny Damon, and Jason Isringhausen) become free agents in the off-season and because of Oakland’s financial limitations, Billy has no way of resigning them. So, the challenge Billy faces is rebuilding a team with a limited amount of funds in a league with no salary cap. “Baseball is an unfair game,” Billy says at one point.

But the reason Moneyball is great is that it’s about so much more than baseball. It’s about adapting to a system in order to survive, disregarding old ideals in order to improve upon them, doing the unpopular thing because you know it’s the right thing.

Brad Pitt is in full on movie star mode here, his acting crackles like a fastball with just enough cut on it to make a batter swing and miss. There is not a chance in hell Pitt won’t get an Oscar nomination for this performance. Like Jesse Eisenberg did with Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network, Pitt takes a real, living person, and turns him into a great cinematic character. The story of Billy’s past is told with flashbacks throughout the movie, and really helps add to the emotional aspect of the film.

In a rare attempt at a serious role, Jonah Hill knocks it out of the park as Peter Brand, a Yale educated computer genius who helps Billy assemble his team using numbers. Hill nails every scene, every line, being serious when he needs to be, and adding comic relief when called upon.

Moneyball is based on the 2003 book of the same name by Michael Lewis that completely changed the way baseball teams are put together, and led to the Boston Red Sox winning the 2004 World Series, using the strategies Billy implemented in Oakland. Now every team in baseball has Sabermetric analysts to dissect stats in order to build a successful team for the least amount of money.

Moneyball has no Field of Dreams, having a catch with your dead dad on a magical baseball field moment. This story is real, and harsh, more about the business of sports and the difficulties of being a player in a game based off numbers, then it is about baseball being a shining beacon of hope and memory in American culture. Moneyball is a love letter to the game, but it also feels like hate mail too. While Billy based his team completely on stats, human beings still have to play, and one of the movie’s best scenes comes when Billy is forced to cut a player from the roster – the realities of a brutal business, if you don’t produce, you get fired.

This movie is not perfect – director Bennet Miller is not David Fincher (The Social Network), and the film doesn’t completely have the sizzle that the movie might have had if Fincher was at the helm instead of Miller. Regardless, Miller does direct a few sequences masterfully including a great scene where Billy, making multiple phone calls, pulls off a trade right before the trading deadline. The scene feels like the classic scene in Jerry Maguire when Tom Cruise is on the phone trying to keep his clients after being fired, and only ends up with the Cuba Gooding Jr. character.

Also, while it comes just short, Moneyball lacks the emotional punch to the gut that it could have had.

I loved the pacing of this movie – it plays out like a baseball game, taking its time, not rushing to get anywhere too quickly. It’s also pretty cool to hear the names of so many current baseball people being used in a Hollywood film.

You’ll be hearing about this movie a lot for the next few months and it’s going to garner much attention during Oscar season. I’d be surprised if it doesn’t get multiple nominations. Moneyball is one of the best movies of 2011 so far, and it also makes me very excited for October – the playoffs are almost here!

Drive (2011) Review

Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Writer: Hossein Amini

Genre: Action/Crime


3 Cookies

Glass of milk - Ryan Gosling
Glass of milk - Nicolas Winding Refn

            Winner of the Best Director award at Cannes, Nicolas Winding Refn has crafted an ultra stylish piece of noir, set in the dark streets of Los Angeles, where lights flash all around and palm trees rise from the pavement. Inhabiting these LA streets is the nameless “Driver” (Ryan Gosling), a stunt car driver for movies and auto mechanic by day, and getaway driver for hire by night. Gosling makes Drive worth seeing for his performance alone.

            Continuing to cement his reputation as one of the coolest actors in the game today, Gosling gives an iconic performance armed with black gloves, a white satin jacket that amounts blood as the film progresses, and an assortments of cars. The picture of calm, Gosling doesn’t flinch, sweat, or change expressions whether he’s flirting with his cute neighbor (Carey Mulligan) or beating a bad guy’s head to pulp. Gosling possesses a certain “it” quality that few actors have, reminiscent of James Dean in Rebel Without A Cause or a young Marlon Brando – gaining heartthrob status for his role in The Notebook, Gosling could have veered into the world of crappy Hollywood blockbusters, but instead has taken risks, signing up for small, challenging roles, and now seems to be on the brink of legit movie star status. With a role in the best romantic comedy of the year, Crazy Stupid Love, Drive, and the upcoming, The Ides of March, directed by George Clooney, 2011 is turning out to be the year of Ryan Gosling.

            Alongside Gosling in Drive is a supporting cast featuring Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks, Ron Perlman, and Christina Hendricks.

            At its core Drive is a love story that explodes with brutal violence in the film’s second act. Driver lives alone, has no friends or family, we don’t know his background; all we know is what we see on the surface. When he moves into a new apartment building he almost immediately connects with his new neighbor Irene, played wonderfully by Carey Mulligan, and her son Benicio. Driver and Irene don’t talk to each other very much, but they do stare at each other a lot, as romantic music plays in the background. Their relationship does seem forced at times, as it often feels like the only reason they connect is because they are both incredibly attractive (although I guess that’s reason enough, sometimes). Still, I could buy the idea that Driver is simply seizing an opportunity for a personal connection, and family, that he could never get in his professional life. The catch is that Irene’s husband will be coming home soon, after being released from prison.

            When Irene’s husband, Standard (Oscar Isaac), comes home it becomes evident that he is mixed up with some bad people, and he is forced to steal a bunch of money or Irene and Benicio will be killed. Driver agrees to help Standard steal the money, because he will do anything to make sure Irene and Benicio aren’t hurt. Of course, the robbery goes haywire, as Standard is killed, and Driver is forced to go on the run with the stolen cash. The money belongs to Ron Perlman’s character (who says the F word a lot), and Bernie Rose, played by Albert Brooks in a chillingly creepy role. Basically, people with guns come after Driver and he is forced to kill whoever gets in his way, leading up to a final confrontation with Bernie Rose.

            At times, it gets frustrating to follow the plot, as it’s hard to understand why money needs to be stolen, who the money is for, why everyone needs to be killed, and what all the character’s motives are. For example, Christina Hendricks from Mad Men pops up for the big heist scene, but I never could really figure out why.

            Regardless, Refn’s vision drives this film beyond the ordinary – taking a story we’ve seen before and pushing its limits.

            The film is shot beautifully, not meant to look like the Hollywood blockbuster it was originally intended to be when Hugh Jackman was signed up for Gosling’s role. It looks like an 80’s B crime flick, with a Euro influence that still manages to feel distinctly American. There is very little dialogue in Drive so the images must carry the film all the way through. Designing a poster for this film must have been a challenge because there are so many memorable images that could be used.

            In fact, the film’s best scene has no dialogue at all, as Driver and Irene end up in an elevator with an assassin assigned to kill Driver. In one swift motion, Driver grabs Irene, delivering the best movie kiss of the year, before turning toward the assassin, beating him until he’s dead. The elevator scene marks the end of the love story, and the beginning of the explosion of violence to follow. As Irene exits the elevator in shock and the door closes with Driver staring at her, he knows he will probably never see her again, yet all of his actions from now on will be for her.

            The violence in this film is noteworthy. It happens quickly, but when it is time for someone to be killed, blood flows pretty freely. Seeing Albert Brooks slit a man’s wrist with a razorblade is a pretty jarring sight to say the least.

            Drive is a very good movie, though it’s not for everyone, certainly not for the people who want Ryan Gosling from The Notebook back, but what frustrates me is it could have been a great movie. In many ways, Gosling’s performance is better than the movie its in, and it’s a performance that will be remembered for a long time, but Drive itself does not have the same staying power. Refn’s vision is extraordinary but the story as a whole just does not measure up.

            Despite it’s flaws, it’s great to see a movie that takes risks and tries to go beyond the box of a  standard Hollywood action movie. Plus, after seeing this movie I really wanted to drive fast, which might not be considered such a good thing.