Review of Raging Bull (1980) by Marco F — 20 Dec 2017

RAGING BULL is an adaptation of a book about a real story of a boxer whose insecurities and low self-esteem destroyed his life outside the ring. It is a masterwork by a master filmmaker who proves here that he is far and above almost every other director of his time. I believe RAGING BULL is Martin Scorsese's finest film- it is a tragedy of Homerian proportions, a searing, violent and generally uncompromising portrait of an unsympathetic and repugnant man- so much so that anyone would probably regret having anything to do with this guy.

The movie stars Robert De Niro as the boxer on topic, Jake LaMotta (the actual LaMotta wrote the book). DeNiro's performance is, in this reviewer's opinion one of the greatest pieces of acting ever staged, cinema or theatre. This is a perfect performance of total commitment by a very talented method actor who is at the top of his form here- once you watch this film- you will understand why DeNiro is so highly revered as an actor and why he and Scorsese worked together so often. The movie also stars Joe Pesci as LaMotta's brother in his first major role, and Cathy Moriarity as Vickie LaMotta, Jake's second wife. They are both fabulous here, credit DeNiro for discovering both actors.

The first scene after the opening credits (which is a brilliant summation of LaMotta's character) sets the tone of one half of this film. We see LaMotta in the ring- and he is competing in a bout. We see he is a very competent boxer- but he is terrifying to watch in action. In this bout (and most of the other bouts in this film), LaMotta doesn't just knock down and knock out his opponent- LaMotta mercilessly mauls and pummels the utter crap out of his opponent. When this happens- it's horrific and brutal; you really feel sorry for any person who comes across this guy. Then, the judges decide for some reason to hand the bout to LaMotta's opponent. The crowd disagrees, and then a riot ensues. Chairs, tables and other objects are thrown around and the scene becomes total pandemonium.

The next scene is set in LaMotta's Bronx apartment, where he lives with his first wife. He and his wife have a loud, violent argument over something as frivolous as how she cooked his steak. We then see Joey barely squeeze through the door which is kept in place by the dinner table overturned. LaMotta then assaults his wife. This sets the tone for the other half of the film.

The way I've written this review makes Jake LaMotta out to be a complete bastard. This is not the case. He has qualities that I believe redeem him in the common man's eyes. If he was a complete bastard, it would be harder for the audience to relate to this character. LaMotta is somehow aware of the fact that his behavior is not okay- and he feels really bad about it. This is exemplified by when he tells his brother to hit him to apparently prepare for an upcoming bout. Joey is reluctant, but Jake anatongizes Joey by slapping him in the face, and Joey's anger boils over and he starts punching Jake in the face.

Then, after a number of events over time, Jake divorces his first wife and marries a young girl named Vickie. Then, a number of violent events occur that alienate Joey and Vickie from Jake, and then, the film turns into a story of redemption. Jake is not happy with himself, and has not been since the movie began. He wants to change, and this is the start of his redemption.

The practicing Catholic Scorsese found a personal connection here through LaMotta's redemption, seeking forgiveness for his sins. Intitally he did not want to do this film, and he poured all his energies into making it- because he believed it would be the last film he would ever make. It wasn't Scorsese who wanted to make this film- it was DeNiro, and it took him 4 years to make it. He finally succeeded after he visited Scorsese in hospital after drug problems of some kind and said that they needed to adapt LaMotta's book into a film. And they ended up making one of the best films I've ever seen.