Atypical Sports Story

Rating: 7/10 (29 January 2007)

The usual trajectory in a sports movie involves some underprivileged character discovering he has a talent, being put through a rigorous training by a mentor, riding that talent to national prominence, being undone by personal demons, and finally rediscovering himself. "Rocky" didn't fit the formula and neither does "Raging Bull." "Rocky," I suspect, broke the mold not so much in the course of a search for originality but in order to leave the way open for a sequel. Or, as it turns out, about five or six sequels. But "Raging Bull" dispenses entirely with the formula and follows Jake LaMotta from early in his career to his ultimate degradation as an unfunny host at a seedy bar in New York. And that's it, except for the possibility of a reconciliation between him and his estranged brother, left unresolved.
Scorcese's direction is simply fine. It's identifiably his own, of course, with inserts of home movies, fist fights over girls, an edgy semi-improvisational quality in the delivery of dialog, slow motion punches to the mouth, a musical score that leans heavily on Italian opera and contemporary pop songs. The plot, for whatever reason, doesn't integrate too well its chief themes -- LaMotta's obsession with his wife's fidelity and his career in the ring. You could almost eliminate one of the plot strings and have enough left over for an independent feature. But that's a minor carp in the overall context because the overwhelming presence of Robert DeNiro as Jake LaMotta pretty much manages to pull them together so the seams are not noticeable.
So the movie depends on DeNiro's performance -- and does he deliver! In real life DeNiro is a sensitive, thoughtful, and private guy, but he does a superb job of dumbing his character down and making him sympathetic and ugly at the same time. Let's say that his LaMotta doesn't show a great deal of insight, whether running around in a paranoid frenzy or pounding an enemy into pulp in the ring. And he has one scene that equals anything he's put on the screen before. A down-and-outer, arrested for serving minors in his cheap night club, and thrown in jail because he is unable to raise a few thousand dollars for bail, he repeatedly smashes his fists against the wall and pounds his forehead on the cement, all the while ululating like a wounded animal. What a performance.
He's well supported by Joe Pesci as the brother who is no more insightful but at least has a hold on common sense. Cathy Moriarty is adequate as LaMotta's abused wife.
I'm driven to add something completely irrelevant to an assessment of the film. When it first came out, I was part of a seminar in the Psychiatry Department at the University of Connecticut and we were dealing with delirium, derived from Latin "de liro" -- "I rave." I desperately wanted to somehow sneak into the discussions a play on words involving the title of the film -- "Raving Bull" staring Robert DeLiro. I never found a way of bringing it up without appearing nuts. Now I've got it out of my system, thanks to IMDb.com, after a quarter of a century. Pardon me. (Wiping away tears of relief and gratitude.) I'd like to thank you all for reading this. I owe everything I have to my coach (thanks, Butch) and my Mom and Dad. (Sob.) Much of the credit goes to my cat, Josefina, and to my Mousterian ancestors. (Breaking into a lachrymose cascade.)
This is a violent and sometimes bloody movie. Scorcese spares us nothing in the way of physical or emotional brutality. But it really shouldn't be missed. A good job on the part of everyone concerned.