Great performance, not so great movie

Rating: 7/10 (6 March 2002)

I have seen Raging Bull a few times, and I must admit, I see what people admire in this movie. The cinematography, editing (especially of the boxing scenes) and performances were flawless. Especially De Niro's. He deserved that Oscar.
Despite all that, I did not like this movie. I have had this trouble with a number of Scorsese movies; I appreciate the skill that Mr. Scorsese has, but simply cannot get myself emotionally involved in his characters. This movie is supposed to be a tragedy, but how can it be tragic if we do not sympathize with the main character. De Niro's jail scened, where he hits rock bottom while raining blows on the wall and shouting "No! No! No!" should have been heartbreaking. But it just wasn't. Out of all the characters in the movie, LaMotta was the only one I didn't like.
Most people say that this movie was robbed of Best Picture by Ordinary People, but I believe that movie is much more emotionally involving, much more real, and much more enlightening. De Niro deserved his Oscar, but so did Ordinary People.