Beautiful, but Nonetheless Unpleasant

Rating: 8/10 (9 May 2009)

You can't fault the quality of Raging Bull. As a work of art, its stunning. The editing, not just of the fight scenes, but of the whole movie, is some of the best I've ever seen.
Watching this movie, you can't doubt that its a success. You always feel as though the film knows where it wants to go and is headed there. Whether you want to go there as well is another question. There isn't anything really pleasant about Raging Bull. Its lyrical, but only in its use of the beauty of sheer force and blind power.
I think the move could still be interesting just on the sensational amount of frustrated rage and energy that De Niro brings to it, and his absolutely flawless and slightly scary performance, but Pesci and Moriarty are every bit as good.
Again, you can't really say that Raging Bull is anything but a beautifully executed movie. But its hard to love its characters, however deeply you understand them.