: Moneyball
This is a tricky movie to comment on as by now it’s famous and that raises my expectations. Though I’m not a baseball fan or follower, I actually wanted to see this at the time of release because it seemed to focus less on the sport and more on the behind-the-scenes stuff. That interested me as I figured I wouldn’t understand the sport.
I didn’t get to see it until now and it turns out it was similar to what I anticipated, but unfortunately I still felt I didn’t really get everything I was supposed to because I don’t know baseball. Sure, I know the basic rules and I’ve played the game as a kid, but I don’t know the pro game or understand the terminology or get the subtleties of the sport. There were many scenes were I didn’t quite understand what was happening.
To give one example, a key plot point involved switching an injured player from catcher to first base. The player’s injury meant he couldn’t throw, which apparently ruled him out as catcher but not at first base. I don’t understand why. First basemen don’t need to throw? I understood the concept of shifting a player to a different position and how that was radical and clever — but the film never explained the differences between those positions so I could understand why that was so radical and significant.
I was also confused by the main character. I did not understand who he was or his history — at times he seemed like he was a former professional player who had success and at other times it seemed like he was a former player who was a failure.
Much of the movie felt like that to me: even when I thought I was getting it, there was still this undercurrent I knew I was missing. I found that disappointing and frustrating, because the whole point of a movie like this is to bring something niche like baseball to a wider audience. In that regard the movie failed. It got very close and is admirable in many ways, but it fell short. (Note that I felt like I understood the “moneyball” premise — buy undervalued players cheap — but that feels incredibly obvious and not revolutionary at all.)
By the same token I was disappointed by the ending, which felt like a downer to me, but that’s in part because I don’t know the real-life history and assumed a Hollywood ending. (It’d be like someone watching Titanic who didn’t know the ship was going to sink.)
Don’t get me wrong: this isn’t a bad movie by any stretch. I was entertained, I followed about 80-90% of what was going on, and I liked the performances, the dialog, and the story. But my expectations were so high that I came away disappointed. I was expecting something ground-breaking and remarkable and instead I got a merely solid story. Ultimately this is a baseball movie, made for people in the baseball club. Bummer.
Topic: [/movie] |
