The Unabatedly Stupid Film Project - 24: Raging Bull (1980)

You may have heard of this film. It's kind of a classic and I bow my head in shame that I haven't seen it up until this very moment. It's my fault. I should've tried harder. In any case I think it's rather good. Directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci it's a bloody and unflinching look at the rise and fall of a professional boxer Jake LaMotta. He needed a hug.

Lots of things I liked, so that means I can talk about themes. There was an interesting perspective on the weakness of the strong man. Even though Jake becomes the World Middleweight Champion he's still a douche. In addition to being emotionally abusive he's physically abusive. He's paranoid and jealous of his wife and manages to alienate everyone close to him. It seems Jake is a fighter simply because it's in his wiring. He doesn't like it and he doesn't seem to do it out of financial need - he's just one of those antiquated warrior types that have mostly been bred out in civilised society. Even though he's strong it comes out of emotional weakness - and that makes for an interesting character. It's like he didn't get enough hugs as a kid so now he has big strong muscles that hug him all the time. He's kind of pathetic really, a more than a bit annoying to watch. But that's the character, not the acting.

There was an almost Godfather-esque examination of 40's society - especially in regards to women. From all angles in this film women manage to be sexualised: From an Italian perspective, a catholic one and a simple temporal one. You really feel for Jake's wife Vicki. When we first meet her she already seems resigned to her fate. There's no hope in her eyes, even as a fifteen year-old girl. She was forced into this life, right from the word go - and doesn't really get a chance to absolve herself until her mid-fourties. It's sad because she was really Jake's idea of the ideal wife; he was simply too small and insecure to let her be it.

One thing I particularly liked about this film was that it didn't really glamourise violence or the boxer. It showed the rise and fall of Jake's career. From nobody to somebody to champion to nobody. It's the tragedy of the fighter that they always expire in the spotlight. Nobody can stay on top forever and it seems like the moment you're there it's already gone. He became a tragic character, trapped in a body he didn't really want resigned to the fate the he deserved but couldn't prevent.

It was a story that took a little too long to tell, which would be one of my only criticisms, but that's the one I've picked. Apparently a lot of the conversations between DeNiro and Pesci were ad-libbed and while this makes for natural sounding conversation it also makes for cyclical conversation. There was easily some time in these back-and-forths that could've been saved - fun as they were to watch. That and the actual boxing scenes boardered on unrealistic by some of today's standards. It made me appreciate The Fighter a little more.

It's DeNiro and Scorsese - how the fuck can you correct them?

It's like teaching the Queen how to spell.

9/10.