dvd of the week
On my favorite movies list of 2011, Moneyball manages to make baseball statistics dramatic and funny. Bennett Miller’s crafty use of slow motion, muted colors and slyly gorgeous cinematography creates an epic grandeur for what is really a story of office politics. He and the screenwriters use American audiences’ sentimentality about baseball to wonderful effect; Brad Pitt, as Oakland A’s manager Billy Beane, even comments on it when he asks, “How can you not be romantic about baseball?” Even Jonah Hill’s nerdy Peter, whose analytical geekiness is what drives much of the plot (and much of the humor), cannot help but get emotional about the game. Billy’s conflicting emotions – between love of baseball, righteous anger at how the business is run, anxiety about whether his decisions are right, frustration with his team – make this Brad Pitt’s greatest role.
