More than a great sports movie, if you can even call it that

Rating: 9/10 (3 August 2008)

"Raging Bull" is sort of a sports drama by association. The way that director Martin Scorsese strings together the story of famous boxer Jake La Motta, the film is more of the rise and fall of a man who made his life as a boxer. It's amazing how few minutes of the film are boxing scenes and yet those scenes stick with you enough that you're convinced you're watching a sports movie. Instead, it's a biopic and arguably the first great biopic of a sports figure.
La Motta is played by Robert De Niro in what one would argue is either his first or second greatest collaboration with longtime friend and film partner Scorsese. I would say first, because the dedication that De Niro gives to this role is so apparent from start to finish. The sparse boxing is incredible and the amount of weight lost and gained seems almost unprecedented for one film. Not only that, but De Niro seems to capture all sides of La Motta's personality whether a ladies man or an emotionally insecure, angry husband.
The truth is that there's not that much going on in this film. It's a movie based around one man's life, which means the actor playing the man has to be really good and his story needs to be well told. Scorsese and De Niro hit it on the nose here. If anything, you walk away from this film seeing how a man who seemed to have so much success as a boxer really never had what truly mattered most to him in his personal life because he was so focused on his pride. While I could have used a bit more going on, Scorsese makes a lot of moments draw you in. The curious affair of La Motta and Vicki (Moriarty) is really well shot and both actors are so interesting to watch together, making it all the harder to deal with as they fight more in the latter half of the film. I also couldn't write a review without properly mentioning the strong supporting acting from Joe Pesci as Joey La Motta, Jake's brother. They also have great chemistry in the film.
So you could say "Raging Bull" is about boxing, but it's really about how boxing for one particular boxer shaped and affected his life in positive and ultimately demising ways. I'm too cautious to call this a sports drama, but boxing does play an integral role in the movie without question. It simply goes to show the deeper human stories behind some of the world's greatest athletes and how it's not simply all about hard work and overcoming the odds. There are more themes in the world of sports than just that. It doesn't have to come down to who is going to triumph in the end. In "Raging Bull," you couldn't care less if he wins or loses, you just want to see how it will affect the rest of his life.