Trotting Bull

Rating: 8/10 (13 June 2011)

IMDb Top 250: 75
I've heard a lot about Raging Bull. One of the best movies ever; best acting performance ever; robbed of Best Picture; its accolades are intimidating. So when I finally found it on Blu Ray, I gasped out loud. It had found me, and I was going to see the "best sports movie ever made".
I made myself a snack, customary of any movie for me. I went to my basement, put the disc in my player, and started it up. Instantly, I was engaged: the menu, with De Niro warming up alone in the ring, a saddening orchestral melody; I knew this was going to demand my full attention. I ate my entire snack before starting, I didn't want to miss anything. I started: the old, fat LaMotta, rhyming to himself. Then BAM! fighting, 20 years earlier. This was it, a milestone in American cinema.
Then the disappointment began. There was talking, and small fits of rage, but as the film progressed, I got... bored. Scorsese has never bored me. And the worst part was, I didn't know what was so bad! I've enjoyed old films, even silent films, but Raging Bull couldn't capture my attention. I waited, maybe it's about his descent, spiralling out of control, but no. He wins some fights, loses some, fights a few people, including his brother, a highlight of the film, loses the last fight, retires, goes to jail, then finds himself alone. There's no major catastrophes, minus the fight with his brother, and other than the boxing it's not exciting.
There are still good things: I wouldn't award an 8 if there weren't. As you've probably heard, De Niro is amazing. After watching several bonus features, I can say he truly becomes the man, Jake LaMotta. He looks like him, fights like him, and probably thinks like him.
Joe Pesci is great, and he is almost as volatile as his brother in the film.
The use of black and white sets the film apart, and it feels right out of the 40's. However, the story stretches to the 60's, and the black and white feels a bit awkward then. I don't understand why the home movies are in colour. Maybe it the scenes with post-boxing LaMotta used colour, but diluted, an effect of evolution could occur.
Lastly, the boxing is awesome. Brutal and visceral, the boxing stands out and makes the scenes outside the ring weaker in comparison. In turn, the editing is great, making the boxing believable.
Usually, I can write a review soon after seeing a film. But not Raging Bull. I needed time to assess what just didn't work with me, and after my lacrosse game, when I was sick of working and felt like yelling at everything that just wasn't right, I figured it out. What makes his story so special? What did Jake LaMotta do to attract the attention of De Niro? It's obvious he has psychological problems, but it never feels like he's going to lose it in the film, and just destroy himself. The write-up says he obliterates opponents, and his family and friends, but he doesn't really, only yells and in one extreme scene hits them, but not intensely. This is a realistic film, with few stretched truths, but that could be one of its fatal flaws. By telling it like it happened, we doesn't feel worried about what'll happen, because all the action outside the ring is contained. The one time where it's uncaged, the Jenaro fight, I was finally in awe. That was the only raging I saw in Raging Bull.
DeNiro is great, but the character he played is not. We have no sympathy for him. He's not a hero, he's not a villain, he's not an anti-hero, he's just a character. I'm sure there are other people in the world who did lose it. Maybe they deserve a movie about themselves. If Scorcese made a fictionalized version of this story, it could've been more shocking and intense.
Lastly, I was misled. The menu used a sweeping orchestral track, but it's never heard again. In fact, other than a few 40's tracks, there was no music. Music could've added an emotional impact to scenes that needed direction, to help us feel the right emotions towards the characters. Especially with the mixed thoughts towards Jake LaMotta, music could've been really beneficial. A film that absolutely ACED the use of music in scenes is Requiem for a Dream. That is just the perfect use of sound to match the pictures on screen.
In conclusion, Raging Bull couldn't live up to the hype I had for it. While De Niro and the fights were great, everything else was less than I expected. It's an important film that makes you reflect on yourself, but the intensity I expected just wasn't there. Leaving me with a film more appropriately called Trotting Bull. 7.8/10