Review of Raging Bull (1980) by Elvar Freyr E — 18 May 2018

Widley regarded as Martin Scorsese's magnum opus and one of the best sporting biopics of all time, Raging Bull features a career-best performance from Robert De Niro, going full method as well as full insane.

I'm a big boxing fan, and as such it was exciting to witness the famous fight sequences, filled in gory closeups to emphasise all the face twisting, blood-spattered mayhem. I don't know if it was something to do with the fighters back then, or maybe the rules that were in force at the time, but none of the fighters seem interested in raising their hands to defend themselves.

Also, some of them take ferocious beatings up against the ropes with no discernible ability to defend themselves, and yet the Refs rarely step in to stop the fight. Finally, despite Scorsese and De Niro aiming for realism and authenticity, La Motta pummels the Hell out of his opponents, and gets pummelled in return, yet after the fight they display very few physical injuries, aside from the infamous St Valentines Day Massacre bout.

Also, it doesn't have any characters to root for. Jake La Motta is a jealous, abusive brute, Joey La Motta isn't much better. Almost everyone else is a crook apart from Vickie. She's the closest one to a likable character, but she ends up being so passive that she rarely has an active part in the story.

Scorsese has made a living directing movies with unlikable leads, but unlike Travis Bickle or Bill Cutting, I didn't end up feel anything for La Motta. The dialogue consists mostly of him asking 'What's that all about?', or 'Who you been talking too?' or some variant of the 2, and the film drags badly towards the end.

The acting is great, especially from De Niro, and it's brutally realistic, but I just didn't care much for it. I've enjoyed several of Scorsese's pictures, but despite the obvious talent on display, Raging Bull just didn't connect with me like some of the others did.