A different kind of 'boxing movie'; sombre yet vivid and ferocious.

Rating: 7/10 (13 May 2018)

'Raging Bull (1980)' differs from most 'boxing movies' in a few ways, most of all how it charts a career instead of the build-up to a single, make-or-break bout and places its emphasis on the tumultuous home-life of the man wearing the gloves as opposed to his time in the ring. Indeed, the boxing sequences - which are vivid, vicious and ferociously energetic - make for less than ten minutes of this picture's screen-time. Though much of its focus is on the jealous, controlling and generally abusive side of Jake La Motta, the eponymous raging bull, the flick doesn't actually delve all that deep into his character, even though it does a good job of portraying him for who he was - or who the filmmakers saw him to be, at least. In this way, we get a character study done from afar, almost like we're a fly on the wall and given the backstage access our protagonist was so keen to keep journalists from getting. We aren't told anything about the stone-faced protagonist but rather shown it and allowed to make up our own minds, which is a common thread through Scorsese's work. The piece is sometimes slow, but never boring, and usually entertaining. It is also quite sombre, in the end. It is wonderfully constructed and well-conceived, easily becoming one of the best in its sub-genre, and its boxing sequences (refreshingly shot from inside the ring) are some of the best in cinema. 7/10