Review of Raging Bull (1980) by Amheretojudge — 16 Jan 2018

Bless the time, the passion and the boldness, it is a scary 11th round, it is vulnerable.

Raging Bull Scorsese's career defining fight is as brutal and impressive as it sounds. Often referred as a classic by the critics, this gritty dramaBless the time, the passion and the boldness, it is a scary 11th round, it is vulnerable.

Raging Bull.

Scorsese's career defining fight is as brutal and impressive as it sounds. Often referred as a classic by the critics, this gritty drama signifies the director Martin Scorsese's genius on filmmaking and his power on the pop culture world. Calling this film or particularly the character dark, wouldn't be enough. The range or the scale that it grasps in that department effortlessly is what's scary. And that is what the film does for the most part of its time. Surprisingly not in the ring against his opponents but in the house with his family.

The fights are just setting up the state of mind, just preparing him for the actual fight that he is going to start so effervescently back in real life. And it is an ugly, ugly game that they fight for. It is not everyone's cup of tea. I might be one of them. I admire the rich visual storytelling gift that Scorsese has. Just take the way he plants the premise of the plot in your head. The love track of Jake (Robert De Niro) and Vicky La Motta (Cathy Moriarty).

Now, it is based on an outrageously wrong theme, but we aren't told to go there at all throughout the course of the film. And then when it comes for devil's due, every single wrong deed haunts him back. Which is cathartic for the people loving this genre. While me. I am tired of seeing some con artist or a morally bad person excelling in his or her field only to collapse with his or her built empire. By the way, that sums up half of Scorsese's filmography. Maybe that's why I never connected emotionally with Raging Bull or any of his films, it's not that it is bad, it is exceptional filmmaking, but it's definitely not for me.