My cousin Jeremy and I made our way to a movie theater last just off 14th St. in Manhattan, and ducked into the theater to catch this new film last week. It was a thrilling experience, partly because we had just had a wonderful day of sightseeing in New York, and partly because we saw a film that was both highly engaging and entertaining.
One need not be a baseball fan to enjoy this film, but as a lifelong fan of the game, I was hooked by the premise of it. 9 years ago, journalist Michael Lewis wrote a book called Moneyball in which he recorded how the Oakland Athletics of the American League were able to continue to put together winning teams despite a very low payroll. To sum up, the idea was that the general manager of the Athletics (Billy Beane, the main character both of the book and the film) was able to find "undervalued players" by reassessing the priorities of baseball statistics. In this world, getting on base is the most important thing a batter can do...how that happens is irrelevant. In the process he undermines the establishment and is able to succeed despite no one believing in him except a young Ivy League educated assistant. Take the baseball away, and what is left? A classic Hollywood underdog story of one crazy person taking on the status quo and, in his own way, winning.
Being a lover of baseball, there are many things that help me love the movie more. As I watched Billy Beane (played wonderfully by Brad Pitt) argue on the phone with Johnny Damon's agent "Scott", I knew who "Scott" was. Knowing who that was added texture to my experience, but would not detract from the experience of someone who didn't. Also, the film brilliantly recounts Beane's own history as a hot young prospect who simply doesn't pan out in the major leagues. As Billy Beane has another shot to compete in baseball in a a different way, he is forced to make decisions about what is important to him, and in a way, possibly right some of the wrongs from earlier in his life. The reason this film is so good is that it is able to tell Beane's own story, and we see him develop. That is the mark of good storytelling, whatever the setting and content of the story. The fact that one can walk away from this film happy for the decisions the Beane's character made speaks volumes on how engaging the story is, and how well it is told.
In the midst of the great storytelling, there are some great laughs, some good baseball, and wonderfully powerful performances from Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Johah Hill (as the Ivy League educated numbers cruncher mentioned above). Hoffman plays the Athletics' manager Art Howe, an old school baseball man who thinks that Beane's ideas are crazy, and fights him every step of the way on controlling the team. There is a moment of brilliance that I recall in the movie. At one point, Beane is having trouble with a certain lineup decision that Howe (Hoffman's character) has made. This continues to be a point of contention between the two of them. Eventually, Beane plays his trump card and trades away the player who was creating the issue without Howe's knowledge. The reaction Hoffman gives when he finds out that one of his favorite players has been traded is truly priceless.
As a father, I also related closely Beane's relationship with his daughter. There are some sweet moments here which show a very human side to this driven and competitive man. And that, in many ways, best demonstrates how good this movie is. To be able to cover the drama of a baseball season, the ups and down of one man's baseball career, and see him grow in stature as a father, and have that all be in one movie is something unique. I hope the sports content does not scare people away from a wonderfully dramatic and funny human story.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
Hard Day's Night
Lately, I have been making my way through the Beatles' catalog with the help of the CD player in my brand new Subaru Outback. As I listen to these songs again (which never, ever grow old), I was reminded of this film, and it's place in my love of movies.
It might be that there would have been no "Monty Python" without this film. This movie has a sense of humor all its own, complete with the irony and surrealism that would eventually be front and center in the comedy of Monty Python. However, here there is very little iconoclasm. Instead, the spirit of the Beatles' early years is captured, almost as though it were a time capsule. We see the joy of the four of them in their early years. We see the distinct personalities of the Beatles (or at least, the images they wanted to portray). Also, for better or worse, we see in this film some very early music videos. The surrealism of "I Should Have Known Better" is a great example of an early music video. The four Beatles are playing cards in a train car, and voila, suddenly they are all playing instruments! Ringo's drums suddenly appear, the guitars pop out of thin air, and John sings the wonderfully vulnerable lyrics of this song.
The plot of the film is somewhat inconsequential. The four Beatles are suffering the slings and arrows of constant touring. Their unity is threatened by the presence of Paul's grandfather, who is a conniving "clean old man" who seeks to disrupt the unity of the group for no good reason.
All of the hijinks and separate paths the Beatles take culminate in the TV appearance at the end of the film. When I was young, I remember my dad instructing me to look at the girls in the TV audience and notice that all of them are calling out the name of their favorite Beatle. When one watches this film, one looks back beyond the brilliance and angst of the Beatles' later years and sees the freshness of the Beatles as they were first known.
As a movie, three things set this movie apart. First, the movie is filled with so much energy and creativity that the viewer simply cannot look away. This is really a tribute to the wonderful screenplay. The script gives the Beatles wonderful dialogue and situations in which to act. The film feels like a string of sketches which are brought together to form a story. Second, the acting is very good. True, the Beatles are playing themselves, but they are still able to deliver the dialogue and make the situations funny through timing and reactions. If one adds to this the great support they receive from the character actors in the movie, one has a show of greta acting in the film. Finally, the movie has great music. All of the songs are Beatles' songs, and they are all good. The Beatles truly were one of a kind, and this film brings that to the forefront. It is such a wonderful thing to have this period in the history of rock and roll captured on film forever.
It might be that there would have been no "Monty Python" without this film. This movie has a sense of humor all its own, complete with the irony and surrealism that would eventually be front and center in the comedy of Monty Python. However, here there is very little iconoclasm. Instead, the spirit of the Beatles' early years is captured, almost as though it were a time capsule. We see the joy of the four of them in their early years. We see the distinct personalities of the Beatles (or at least, the images they wanted to portray). Also, for better or worse, we see in this film some very early music videos. The surrealism of "I Should Have Known Better" is a great example of an early music video. The four Beatles are playing cards in a train car, and voila, suddenly they are all playing instruments! Ringo's drums suddenly appear, the guitars pop out of thin air, and John sings the wonderfully vulnerable lyrics of this song.
The plot of the film is somewhat inconsequential. The four Beatles are suffering the slings and arrows of constant touring. Their unity is threatened by the presence of Paul's grandfather, who is a conniving "clean old man" who seeks to disrupt the unity of the group for no good reason.
All of the hijinks and separate paths the Beatles take culminate in the TV appearance at the end of the film. When I was young, I remember my dad instructing me to look at the girls in the TV audience and notice that all of them are calling out the name of their favorite Beatle. When one watches this film, one looks back beyond the brilliance and angst of the Beatles' later years and sees the freshness of the Beatles as they were first known.
As a movie, three things set this movie apart. First, the movie is filled with so much energy and creativity that the viewer simply cannot look away. This is really a tribute to the wonderful screenplay. The script gives the Beatles wonderful dialogue and situations in which to act. The film feels like a string of sketches which are brought together to form a story. Second, the acting is very good. True, the Beatles are playing themselves, but they are still able to deliver the dialogue and make the situations funny through timing and reactions. If one adds to this the great support they receive from the character actors in the movie, one has a show of greta acting in the film. Finally, the movie has great music. All of the songs are Beatles' songs, and they are all good. The Beatles truly were one of a kind, and this film brings that to the forefront. It is such a wonderful thing to have this period in the history of rock and roll captured on film forever.
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