u/shadylaundry

Raging Bull (1980) ends on a wonderful note, with this text quoted from The Bible:

>"Speak the truth before God, we know this fellow is a sinner"
and the man replied: "Whether or not he is a sinner, I don't know, but once I was blind, Now I can see"
- John 9:24-26

In the Part I of this post, let's try to explore what this quote could mean. In the Part II, we will look at Raging Bull from a more religious lens and analyze what makes Jake LaMotta a "sinner" in the religious sense.

PART I

In the Biblical context, there was a blind man who was miraculously cured of his blindness by Jesus' touch. There were plenty sceptics of Jesus' power around that time and they approached the cured man, asking him to tell the truth and testify against Jesus by labelling him as a sinner in front of God. The cured man however, simply replies that he doesn't know if Jesus is a sinner or not but atleast he opened up his eyes.

Coming to how this quote might connect to this film, whether the things Jake LaMotta did are morally correct is a different conversation but the raw portrayal of his downfall in this film we all spent a couple hours watching atleast opens up some eyes in us. That quote nicely explains the purpose of the film without being very on the nose. The film, much like that blind man, isn't more interested in absolving or condemning Jake, it's more so interested in showing the truth of Jake's existence without flinching in an unfiltered manner. It helps us "see" how arrogance and rage corrupts a person.

I read online a couple theories from other people on how Jake's posture in his last match v/s Sugar Ray Robinson evokes the crucified posture of Jesus with the arms wide and blood pouring down the body from his wounds, which adds to this interpretation. While I don't personally rock with a person like Jake being potentially portrayed as a Christ-like figure, I can pass it off because it is subtle and the final Biblical quote also connects to this, because the person addressed in the quote is Jesus.

Or maybe this crucifixion pose is to show that Jake LaMotta has gone so far down his delusional vanity that he feels like Jesus getting crucified when he finally loses and if the whole boxing world conspired against him. He even leaves by frantically repeating "I never went down Ray" . Ironically enough, there is a big cross showing Christ's crucifixion placed above Jake & Vickie's bed centrally in their house, which adds weight to this theory. During the scenes before his matches, religious artifacts like crosses and images of the Virgin Mary are framed around Jake.

Another interpretation of the quote could be the fact that Jake finally "sees". The quote is flashed on the screen right after the final scene, where Jake looks at himself in the mirror and recites "Let's face it, It was you Charlie" as a rehearsal for his stand up comedy. This also functions as a moment of self "reflection" into a mirror where Jake realizes the problem was always him. "I could've been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am" also cuts deep in this monologue.

This interpretation goes along so well with confessions from the real Jake LaMotta in later parts of his life about himself, which is what made him write the autobiography in the first place to admit his wrongs. The film itself is based on that autobiography.

PART II

Let's now analyze what makes Jake LaMotta a "sinner" in the religious sense. As a quick recap, Pride, Greed, Lust, Envy, Gluttony, Wrath, and Sloth are the seven deadly sins in Christianity. Raging Bull portrays Jake LaMotta indulge in all seven of them strongly in some way or form.

The #1 thing I love about Raging Bull is the fact that it epitomizes the age old teaching and Christian saying that "Pride" is the deadliest/worst one out of the 7 deadly sins. On paper, "Pride" doesn't sound that bad right? What's so wrong in having a bit of respect for yourself and why is "Pride" said to be worse than Envy, Greed, Lust or Wrath/Rage, all of which look instantly dangerous. This film sketches out all the answers to that.

Pride is called the "root/father of all sins" because it doesn't just destroy you by itself but it subconsciously plants the seeds for all the 6 other deadly sins to insidiously cultivate. "I still remember those cheers, they still ring in my ears" is the iconic opening line of the film where Jake reflects on where his immense amounts of pride stemmed from: the success and validation being a great boxer brought him. It planted the idea in him that he is the superior and can beat down anyone in a ring and hence he can beat down anyone in his personal life, even if it is his wife or brother.

This later gives rise to

• Lust, pursuing other women and staying up all night late at nightclubs while being married
• Envy, over Vikkie making the smallest compliment over Jake's opponent which escalated to insane amounts of paranoia over his wife
• Wrath, which should be self-explanatory given his nickname "Raging Bull" and during the scene where he beats up his loved ones like an animal
• Greed, for success and championships even if it means mutilating his opponents
• Gluttony, which is exemplified in the later stages of his career by Jake failing to lose weight and always eating junk food to the dismay of Joey
• and finally Sloth, which is all he ends up with at the end of the film, physically overweight and lazy comedian, forced into retirement due to weight struggles.

The final 20-30 minutes of this film portrays his downfall so viscerally. When Jake screams "I'm not an animal" all alone in an isolation prison, punching his hurtful hands against the wall, it feels like Jake has realized the biggest battle he had to win wasn't inside no boxing ring, but inside his own mental cage that he had built for himself with his vices and excessive pride.

There is this quick run-through of years in Jake LaMotta's life from 1944 to 1947 around the 40 minute mark of this film which does heavy lifting symbolically. In this segment, you get the only colour shots of the film, and those are shots of Jake "winning" in his personal life, building a family/bond with Vikkie & his brother Joey. These colour shots are intertwined with the usual Black & White shots of Jake winning games in a boxing ring.

The colour shots show something transiently beautiful that Jake never really achieves anytime in his personal life later, despite his glorious professional achievements in black & white. His hunger/rage for success in the boxing world and his tendency to get envious of his wife's normal behavior is what hinders his personal life moving forward and makes it colorless.

Overall, I think Raging Bull is one of the best cautionary tales that you can find in Cinema. I was even more impressed by this film on re-watch and got inspired to write this post. I still consider it to be Martin Scorsese's best movie. I wasn't surprised when I later found out that Scorsese grew up devoutly Catholic and even considered becoming a priest.