Moneyball

Australia has cricket and the Americans have baseball. Long boring games that involve the hitting of balls and running around.

Despite some similarities to cricket, Aussies have not shown much interest in baseball. Movies about baseball usually don't do too well here. Thankfully this film, while about baseball is more concerned with behind the scenes politics of the game rather than the game itself. Regular readers will know that I'm a huge fan of writer Aaron Sorkin and as he is a co-writer of this film then I was bound to enjoy it. Aaron loves to write films about behind the scenes of things, which is why he is so well suited to work on this film. I'm not a sports fan but I seem to enjoy most films about sports. I think because they edit the games so they feel more tense than they really are. I do know a little bit about baseball which comes from my endlessly watching 'The Naked Gun'. Using statistics to create a sports team seems like a good idea in theory but as is always the case the human element gets in the way. People don't always behave statistically. But Billy Beane managed to get the system working. The film is full of dialogue and analysing statistics, so it is a real testament to writers Steven Zallian, Aaron Sorkin and director Bennett Miller that they manage to make this story really interesting and compelling. While there is only one game of baseball shown in the film, you really root for these characters and their team and want to see them succeed. It is truly a David and Goliath story. The one game that is shown in the film is one of the most tense games I've seen played. It also has one of the best game climaxes your ever likely to see.

Brad Pitt proves once again that he is truly a brilliant actor. His portrayal of Billy Beane in this film is amazing. He is a man that despite being let down by the system that created him still wants to see it succeed. Billy does not let anything get him down and even lets other people take the credit. I loved how the film gave us some background to Billy's baseball career. Brad has some wonderful scenes with Kerris Dorsey who plays his daughter. These are some really emotional scenes. Jonah Hill is mostly know for his crude humour, so it is great to see him do something more serious. And he does a brilliant job of it. He is perfect as the nerdy type guy who helps Billy in his quest. Philip Seymour Hoffman is nicely gruff as the teams coach who resists Billy's new scheme.

Don't let the fact the film is about baseball put you off. This is one of the best films I've seen this year and is well worth seeing. No doubt it will be rewarded come award season.