It’s not a movie to watch for a vision of the world, for the revelation of inner life, or for psychological reverberations. Rather, “Moneyball” (which I discuss in this clip) offers that synergistic joy of a script that incisively represents its subject, performances that bring it to life with swing, and a clear but surprising plotting of action along the story’s thematic axes. The often-discussed core of the film—the application to baseball of statistical analyses that bypass familiar approaches to player evaluation and game strategy—isn’t the subject but it is the MacGuffin: the movie is about putting a new idea into practice. The process under the microscope isn’t that of playing baseball, but of management. In the role of the Oakland Athletics’ general manager Billy Beane, Brad Pitt—an admirable actor who is at once bigger and a little smaller than life (that’s the secret to his charm, to the humanity of his swagger, and the reason for his splendid incarnation of Benjamin Button)—blossoms, doing something he has never done as well: speaking. It’s as if, as Beane, Pitt seems to have found his own voice; I look forward to seeing—to hearing—whether it will carry into other roles.
Goings On
What we’re watching, listening to, and doing this week, online, in N.Y.C., and beyond. Paid subscribers also receive book picks.
Our Local Correspondents
Why You Can’t Get a Restaurant Reservation
How bots, mercenaries, and table scalpers have turned the restaurant reservation system inside out.
By Adam Iscoe
Profiles
Padma Lakshmi Walks Into a Bar
Since leaving “Top Chef,” Lakshmi has found herself in a period of professional uncertainty. What better time to try standup comedy?
By Helen Rosner
The New Yorker Interview
Jonathan Haidt Wants You to Take Away Your Kid’s Phone
The social psychologist discusses the “great rewiring” of children’s brains, why social-media companies are to blame, and how to reverse course.
By David Remnick
Photo Booth
When Babies Rule the Dinner Table
In the past two decades, American parents have started to ditch the purées and give babies more choice—and more power—at mealtime.
By Alexandra Schwartz