Perfection with a Fatal Flaw

Rating: 8/10 (15 April 1999)

It is said that when the Amish women make a quilt they deliberately leave a flaw in it, under the worldview that only God could truly make something perfect. Fortunately of course, the flaw the Amish women choose to leave is something trivial not fatal.
It is this analogy that I think of after viewing Martin Scorsese's RAGING BULL. The only problem is the flaw that Mr. Scorsese left in was akin to omitting an entire seam. And the quilt unravels.
RAGING BULL is masterfully filmed, masterfully acted, and masterfully written. It is genius. But it lacks sympathy for the characters. The viewers are unable to make an emotional connection with the characters on the screen. Watching the story (viewing the art) is only half the requisite. Viewers should be allowed to experience the story (experience the art) via making an emotional connection.
This was a fatal flaw. Interestingly the consequential question we are therefore led to ask is -- was the story of Jake LaMotta worth framing on the screen? Why or why not? Very interesting.