Analysis of a scene from 'Raging Bull'

This is an analysis of a scene from the film 'Raging Bull' after Jake La Motta is jailed for serving alcohol to a minor

In the film 'Raging Bull', Jake LaMotta is charged with serving alcohol to a 14 year old girl in his nightclub. He goes to prison where he confronts the demons inside of himself and comes out of prison broke but intact. He makes up with his brother Joey. 

This is the darkest and most powerful sequence in the entire film as we see Jake succumb to all of his excesses without the discipline and balance of boxing, his little brother, or his wife. As the film started with him in the boxing ring alone, in this scene he is also alone with himself to confront the question why? His unlit cell represents not only his isolation as a human but also the darkness of his inability to see that out of all the men he faced in the ring that he has always been his own worst enemy. Also, another note about his weight gain. Prior to his retirement, the training he underwent for his fights kept his weight from getting out of control. I interpret his weight gain as a metaphor for the accumulative effect of immoral behavior on his part.

With no way to offer penance with his blood in the boxing ring, all of his sins add up literally and figuratively. But, eventually, he comes out of prison, humiliated but repentant. When he sees his brother Joey whom he hadn’t seen since beating him for having an imaginary affair with his ex wife, Vikki, Jake begs Joeys forgiveness, kissing his little brother tenderly and crying. This is a powerful scene and marks the final stage in Jake’s character arc, going from a man living on pure appetite and impulse to a broken man in touch with his God and his humanity.