Jake La Motta's toughest fights were with his demons outside of the ring.

Rating: Null/10 (3 August 2014)

Raging Bull is about middle weight boxer Jake LaMotta, played by Robert De Niro, and his life inside and outside of the boxing ring. As Jake rises through the ranks in the early 1940s, we see that his confidence in the ring is quite the reverse outside. He struggles with insecurity and jealousy which fills him with rage and guilt, and trusts no one but himself. This serves as the central theme throughout the film. Similar to what Russell Crowes' character John Nash experiences in A Beautiful Mind; the uncontrollable jealousy and insecurity are diseases almost as powerful as schizophrenia.
For a while he is able to control his jealous rage by taking out his aggressions on his opponents, even prolonging one fight so he could do more damage to the face of a boxer that his wife Vickie, played by Cathy Moriarty, mentioned was good looking. To a lesser extent, Jake also uses the ring to pay penance, sometimes allowing an opponent to punish him in an attempt to relieve his guilt. The use of slow-motion, silence, and increasing sound and speed give us a firsthand look at what Jake is experiencing during these fight scenes; the rage and lack of control, and the feeling of defeat and despair.
Desperately wanting a title, Jake is convinced by his brother Joey, played by Joe Pesci, that the only way to get the title fight is to through a fight so the mob can make money from him; then they will set up the title fight. After agreeing and throwing the fight, Jake, already distraught by his decision, is suspended by the boxing commission. Thus begins his steady downward spiral. He begins gaining weight and does nothing to keep himself in shape. No longer able to release his pent up anger in the ring, he begins beating his wife and accusing her of sleeping with multiple people, including his own brother. When she can no longer take his aggressive behavior, she screams back that she has been with everyone he has mentioned and more. He loses complete control and attacks her and his brother.
As Jake's relationship with his brother comes to an end, he retires from boxing to spend more time with his family. This has not done much to mend relations with his wife, we see that it appears to be nothing more than wishful thinking as he orders his family around so the press can take pictures of them, posing as the 'happy family'. Growing bored in retirement, Jake opens a nightclub where he spends more and more time, pursuing his next greatest love, entertaining. One morning, after Jake has spent the night at the club, he comes out to find his wife waiting for him in the parking lot. She informs him that she is leaving him and has already gotten a lawyer and everything is already in motion.
Jake's descent continues when he arrested for serving underage girls in his club, and for 'introducing them to other men'. While out on bail, Jake learns that if he can come up with $10,000 to bribe the judge and prosecutor, he will not have to serve time in jail. The only chance he has of raising that much money is to sell his championship belt. Unable to part with the belt, he pries the jewels out of it and attempts to sell them, but it is not enough. While in jail he has a breakdown, questioning why this has happened to him, and eventually coming to terms with it. In his scene there is a wonderful use of partial lighting showing the conflict and contrast Jake struggles with.
After being released from jail, Jake resumes his stand-up/philosopher act, and moves on with his life. While leaving a performance one night, he sees his brother Joey and awkwardly attempts to reconcile, but the feelings do not appear to be returned. He asks his brother several times to forgive and forget, but never apologizes; still to insecure to admit he has a problem and that he was wrong.