About
Moneyball

This movie is oddly powerful. It is packed to the gills with visual flair, the acting is very solid (even down to the minor characters), and they really make you feel for the main character. I think what I responded the most to was the fact it tells an underdog story with a realistic, almost cynical, edge. Despite that side of the narrative the movie is filled with scenes that could come off sappy, but worked incredibly well. The raw emotion Brad Pitt shows in the scenes with his daughter singing are just heart breaking. The ending has really stuck with me in a big way. I believe this film, along with The Social Network, has re-legitimized the use of text to close out the narrative. More often than not it is used to close out a wonky narrative, but both my examples manage to invoke such emotion, with words, in a visual medium. I have to say I was impressed by how much range Jonah Hill showed, but the Oscar nod felt odd.