Well-made, conventional drama

Rating: 8/10 (19 November 2011)

An article on Cracked.com states that we don't know how bicycle work, and that they were first created by trial and error. Nowadays, they say: "Even modern bike design schools admit that it's not engineering or computer knowledge that make a good bike designer, but instead "intuition and experience."
Moneyball is about the exact opposite of that.
Billy Beane is the GM of the poorest team in baseball, the Oakland A's in 2002. With Peter Brand, an Economics graduate from Yale, they devise a new way of making a team- not with scouts, but numbers and formulas. The story is fairly plain, and the ending isn't what I expected (don't know my baseball history)- for the worse, but for 2 hours Moneyball is an enjoyable film with a great main character, witty writing, and generally the qualities of a good film.
This is not a dramatic baseball film, it's a drama film with baseball. I thought I knew how the film would end before I went in, so I thought, "It's not the what, but the why and how". However this was not the case. The film didn't end how I thought, and the true story isn't as good as what I thought would happen. The true story is much less inspiring, and the filmmakers tried very hard to make it seem like the A's did change baseball. I don't know if they did, but the facts are more convincing than words.
Asides from the plot, the film is about the man who makes it happen. And the man who really makes it happen. Brad Pitt gives an excellent performance as the winning- driven GM. Through a few flashbacks, we see why Beane is so ready to embrace this radical system everyone else sees as crazy. These scenes give him personality and depth. He's the dreamer in a world full of Suits, with one hilarious cameo by Bobby Kotick, archenemy of gamers everywhere.
Beane learns of the stat method from Peter Brand, in a dramatic role by Jonah Hill, who more often than not plays the funny guy. It's interesting to see him play a quiet, new-to-business person where everyone makes jokes (some quite funny) while he can only sit and look scared. It would be like if Robert De Niro or Al Pacino were the guys being shaken down by the mobsters.
The film is quite funny, but it has to be. It isn't a serious drama, so it goes for the lighthearted approach to avoid being flat. The writing is great, and steers away from the potentially fatal baseball slang/terms. Such gems as "Yeah, but his girlfriend's a 6..." and "This'd better work." will keep you laughing.
So the film is pretty safe, with a strong lead and universal "think differently/ stick to your guns" message. Moneyball isn't going to be remembered for its uniqueness or innovation, and in fact unless it wins Oscars it won't be remembered at all. It's a good film, just not special. I only have one complaint, which is his relationship with his daughter is out-of-place in such a work-focused film. Their scenes are silly, with one ridiculous line so close to 9/11. (The movie takes place in 2002.)
Moneyball is a well-made and well-acted film that doesn't push any boundaries but plays comfortably within set ones. 8.0/10