Scorsese is so often associated with gangsters and gritty killing. He does these things well, well enough to get both Goodfellas and Taxi Driver on the AFI list and also get an Oscar for The Departed.
But with this film I think he proves he’s more that he’s an artist.
Yes, this movie is well directed, yet it’s well acted, yes it’s well edited. But above all else this movie is EMOTIONAL AF.
I experienced this when I saw this for my first time in high school. But watching it now, having lived way more life, it hits me so much harder.
So this week I want to focus on how Scorsese does this--how he takes the true life story of an angry guy who likes to beat people up and makes it into one of the most effective tearjerkers ever made.
Here we are with 1980’s Raging Bull, written by Paul Schrader and directed by Martin Scorsese.
A message we hate to relate to
I talk about the message of the movie a lot. Some of them are uplifting like Rocky’s “You have to push yourself to reach your full potential.” and some of them are deep, like Do the Right Thing’s “What is the right thing?”
But this one is so emotionally impactful because it’s a message we all know intrinsically is true whether or not we want to admit it: “we are usually the ones who wreck our own lives.”
No matter how hard it might be to maintain weight or how tough of a boxer Sugar Ray Robinson is, Jake Lamotta is completely responsible for destroying his own life. His anger and lack of discipline is what gets him into trouble every single time.
And it’s lack of appreciation that triggers this the most. He is never complacent. He’s one of the best lightweight boxers, but he’s way more concerned that he’ll never get a crack at the heavyweight title. Throughout the movie, he’s so focused and disciplined on receiving the title, but as soon as he gets it, he no longer cares about it and he lets himself go and loses the belt a couple bouts later.
It’s the same with wife. He tries so hard to win her over, but as soon as he gets her, he treats her terribly. When he gets everything he wants he even distrusts and beats the living snot out of his own brother, the one person who was always by his side.
Heartbreaking montage
Perhaps the saddest part of the whole movie is the home movie montage in the middle.
It runs through the happiest moments of Jake’s life, both personally and professionally. It spans several years, but it’s over so quickly, mirroring how the happiest moments in our own lives seem to pass by in the blink of an eye, especially when we’re looking back on them.
Here we see Jake have everything that he eventually loses: his wife, his brother, his kids, a great physique, a fantastic career, happiness.
In color, as it’s the most vivid moment of Jake’s life, but also with “Silvano: Barcarola” playing underneath, underscoring the sadness of these home movies being nothing but a faded memory.
I don’t know how to not tear up when watching this.
Great technique
The fact that this movie is so well made also makes it more impactful.
The gorgeous black and white photography, the captivating camera movements, the performances, etc. All of this cause us as the viewer to be taken deeper into the film.
Jake Lamotta is not a likable character, and neither really is Joey, but they’re fascinating ones, and by taking us deeper into the film, we stay with them and we empathize even more, making the sad bits even sadder.
I think it’s crucial that filmmakers, no matter how great a script might be, take this care to make a film well because it will make the viewers buy into the screenplay so much more.
As sad as the movie is, there is some hope at the end of the film. It looks like Jake and Joey might patch things up, Jake seems to be making a comeback in his performance career, he’s getting his boxing passion back.
When he gets locked up in jail, it finally hits him what he’s lost and he finally starts to appreciate what he had.
I try to make sense of his On the Waterfront monologue (as Roger Ebert points out, it’s cool that Deniro is playing Lamotta, who’s playing Brando, who’s playing Malloy), and what the meaning is of the last quote.
With the former, although it might seem like he’s directing the monologue at his brother, he’s looking at himself in the mirror as he says it, maybe, at least subconsciously realizes that he’s been his own worst enemy the whole time. Which then explains the “I once was blind, but now I see” quote.
Raging Bull is a cautionary tale in a lot of ways, but like the best cautionary tales it reaches us on a truly emotional level. This is why I believe it’s Scorsese’s best film (although it has to compete with King of Comedy for being my favorite) and a damn affecting piece of art.
Thanks for reading!
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