It's a sports movie... but it goes far beyond that...
Based on Michael Lewis's 2003 book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, the film delves into the true story of how the unfashionable and under-funded baseball team Oakland Athletics built a side capable of competing with cash-rich rivals such as the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.

General manager Billy Beane's adoption of sabremetrics (statistical analysis of players' on-field performances) allows him to cheaply and effectively put together a team that shatters baseball records with a 20-game winning streak.

Sure, a movie about stats and boiling sport - the great unscripted drama - down to a science sounds tedious, but director Bennett Miller makes it into something so much more. Beane, with the help of his assistant Peter Brand (Jonah Hill in a more serious turn), is able to find value in men who've been discarded, left behind or told they have nothing left to offer.

Oakland A's create a mini miracle by turning themselves into a home for forgotten "misfit toys". This, coupled with Beane's own anguish over his personal and career failings (he's separated from his wife and couldn't cut it as a baseball pro) gives Moneyball incredible emotional resonance.

Steven Zallian and Aaron Sorkin's brilliant script...
Screenwriter Steven Zallian penned the initial script for Moneyball when it was being worked on by Steven Soderbergh. The film collapsed at the last moment under the stewardship of the Ocean's Eleven director, but Zallian's framework provided a solid backbone for Aaron Sorkin to take on the story and lend it his own brand of snappy repartee and dry humour. Whether it's the White House, a late night comedy show or a social network, Sorkin has an uncanny ability to turn any subject into compelling viewing.

The cast...
Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill's relationship drives the story forward, with the latter's lightness and innocence a clever counter to the more sombre mood of General manager Beane. Pitt (who's starting to look more and more like Robert Redford) has always impressed when he's played kinetic characters (see Fight Club, Twelve Monkeys), yet here he effortlessly glides through the film on the back of movie star charisma.

Hill, in his first big dramatic role, delivers a fine supporting turn, while the likes of Philip Seymour Hoffman (as inscrutable coach Art Howe), Robin Wright and a sandal-wearing Spike Jonze also make a mark in their limited screen time.

Special mention should go to the team of old-school scouts, which include Ken Medlock, the omnipresent Glenn Morshower (who barely utters a word) and a team of real-life baseball backroom staff, who rally against Beane's unorthodox methods.

The soundtrack...
Subtle, guitar-driven music is quickly becoming de facto audio for sporting movies ever since Explosions in the Sky lent their evocative sonic reverberations to Peter Berg's Friday Night Lights. Composer Mychael Danna takes his lead from the aforementioned 2006 American football drama, bringing his low-key score in just at the right moments to deliver an emotional jolt. Listen out as it soars when Scott Hatteberg (Chris Pratt) makes the final hit to take the A's to their record-breaking 20th consecutive victory.

Beane's daughter Casey (Kerris Dorsey) also contributes a cover of Lenka's 'The Show' that plays out twice in the film. The final shot is heartbreaking stuff as Miller zeroes in close to Billy as he's tearing up listening to the song. Yes, the movie takes place some six years before the track was actually released, but does that really matter?

It doesn't end how you'd expect...
Traditionally, sports movies climax in fist-pumping celebration with the unfancied underdogs triumphing against the odds. Not so in Moneyball. Although Beane's methods prove effective on the field, the A's don't quite go the distance as they're defeated in the first round of the post-season.

Of course, this is all based on real life, but Miller could easily have ended the film after Hatteberg smashed his home run. Choosing to continue the story past that jubilant moment is a brave and refreshing move. Sports fans will be well aware that following a team is full of ups and downs, trials and tribulations and losing out on glory by small margins. Moneyball is a true reflection of what sport - and life - has to offer. Nobody can truly define themselves by one single triumph.

Billy Beane's unsuccessful quest for victory will likely be paralleled on Oscar night come February 26, but even if Moneyball goes home empty-handed there'll still be a special place in our heart for this movie gem.

Cr DigitalSpy