One of the hardest things to pull off in a movie is to engage the audience in a story when they already know the ending. Unfortunately, Bennett Miller’s retelling of the Michael Lewis book covering Oakland A’s general manager, Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), during the 2002 MLB season falls short of accomplishing this feat.

Faced with rebuilding a team with the lowest payroll in the majors after a disappointing 2001 playoff elimination, Beane employs an unorthodox strategy with the help of Peter Brand (Jonah Hill).  Beane, who had a disappointing and short-lived playing career of his own, is forced to confront the doubts of his nay-saying staff, on top of some of his own inner-demons.

While the film does have some enjoyable moments, including a few memorable one-liners and more than adequate performances by Pitt and Hill, it feels like the story never quite reaches the dramatic crescendo that you might anticipate. Instead, the mood of the film meanders along a flat-line with few, if any, emotional spikes.