Martin Scorsese is probably my favorite director of all time, and Raging Bull is the toughest of Scorsese's films to watch in my opinion. He creates a terrific narative nessesary for telling this harsh story. Jake La Motta is a tragic character from the very beginning of the film making his downward spiral even harder to bare. He's not a character that can be dismissed as a wife beating animal. His other flaws are heaped upon him and the audience over and over until the floor falls breaks beneath it all. His breakdown in the jail cell isn't justice in my mind, but a hard-hitting window into a human who has hit rock bottom. This view is rarely seen with such care and support. This type of hotheaded animal is easily labeled, but Scorsese does more than that. He shows that Jake is a human that can't be defined by a ringname.
pic: profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user...
4 comments:
OK, I can buy the idea that Jake is more than an animal, but "tragic"? Isn't tragedy when a basically good person is brought low by a flaw within him/herself or by other circumstances? Is that the story told here? I do feel sad for Jake--no doubt. But it also seems like he's pretty much the author of his own sad destiny. Or am I being harsh?
I feel like I need to clarify--sorry. For me, this movie succeeds to the extent that I'm able to see Jake as a near-psychotic egomaniac and still see him as a human being whose fate evokes my pity and compassion. If I feel glad about his downfall, then I don't think Scorsese has done his job as a storyteller; on the other hand, if I end up thinking Jake is a poor helpless victim, I think that's off as well.
For me, the biblical quote helps a little, even though it at first seemed REALLY anomalous to me. It tells me not to judge the guy--not to worry whether he's a sinner or not, but to consider the ways he opens my eyes or shows me new dimensions of humanity.
Being tragic from the very beginning is kind of how I meant to say he was never a good person(not the best phrase). He isn't a good person, but he certainly has a downfall that comes from his own flaws. This added with a human element separates him from his labels and makes him tragic to me.
I believe his main flaw is his low self esteem. He looks down upon vicky because she is willing to have sex with someone like him, and also his low self esteem leads him to be certain of her wanting to be with someone else, which leads to his jealousy and aggression
Post a Comment