Throughout the film, there are several memorable boxing sequences, including LaMotta’s famous fights with Sugar Ray Robinson. And the film ends with LaMotta still on stage, but apparently at peace with who he is. There on the stage he attempts to come to terms with his own screw-ups, his own failures earlier on in his life. Now we return back to the opening, LaMotta, overweight, and performing as a comedian. And, like a switch has been flipped, he falls into obscurity. And it is LaMotta’s completely unhinged and reckless behavior that lead to his downfall.

And voila, I could have predicted this, LaMotta begins to suspects Joey of having an affair with Vickie, causing a rift between the brothers.

Simultaneously though, his personal life is in turmoil, and he becomes increasingly paranoid and abusive towards those around him. Yup, as expected, LaMotta’s boxing career reaches its peak when he becomes the middleweight champion of the world. Are we sensing a theme here? Remind me why there are books and movies made about this guy? Because he was prodigious in the ring? LaMotta’s jealousy and suspicion of Vickie leads him to become physically and emotionally abusive towards her, causing her to leave him. (Is this back when child-brides were normalized things?) Regardless, despite their age difference, they have a passionate and tumultuous relationship. LaMotta then meets and falls in love with Vickie (played by Cathy Moriarty), a 15-year-old girl who becomes his second wife. Meanwhile, LaMotta meets and marries his first wife, but he becomes increasingly paranoid and abusive, suspecting her of cheating on him and quickly his first marriage ends in divorce. His manager, his younger brother Joey (played by Joe Pesci), helped guide his career and tried to keep his boxing brother focused. Better yet, he also had a very short fuse, and was easily prone to violence.

It’s obvious that early on, LaMotta was a hardcore competitor. He reflects on his life and career as a boxer, and the film then flashes back to his early days as a boxer in the 1940s.

He is overweight, retired from boxing, and struggling to make a living. The film opens with middle-aged Jake LaMotta (played by Robert De Niro) getting ready for a comedy club performance. Top 100 Movies Robert DeNiro’s Raging Bull Walkthrough

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