A Masculine Messy, Bloody, Mirror

Rating: 9/10 (8 February 2020)

Initially, this film did not resonate. I wasn't sure what Lamotta was supposed to mean to me. He was hard to relate to. Yet something I live by when it comes to just about anything is that you should always try something twice. So I did.
Raging Bull is one of my favorite American films after several viewings because it truly portrays unbridled masculinity. It's not pretty. It's not morally justifiable. It's just animalistic. The constant drive to wanna be the best, to conquer the competition, to dominate women, all of these things are ugly, but American and masculine. We see a man that never rises, but continues to slowly fall. The fact that he is a good fighter, and that he wins the belt, means nothing because he gets really fat and loses his brothers love. His body and dominance start to leave him as he achieves. The trade-offs and high stakes resonate in waves.
One of the most stunning sequences in cinema history for me is when we see Lamotta at arguably his lowest, in prison. The scene evokes true emotion, as we see a man who has never broken, finally break. He realizes what he is. Who he is. And I cry every time. Not because I love Jake Lamotta, but because I understand what it is like to regret something that is in your nature. You're sorry, but you're not. But you are because you were caught.
Lamotta cannot understand why people start to turn on him, despite his treatment of them. This is personified in the final scene with Joey. His ego never leaves. The constant need for attention and justification becomes Jake's fight. He can't physically dominate people anymore, so he has to use his fragile ego to manipulate people into laughter at his self deprecation.
And so what does it all mean? Is raging bull a technically excellent film? Of course. Is it well directed. Sure. But what it truly is is a mirror. A mirror that men hold up, and see themselves in, like it or not. I certainly did. And that's entertainment.