Jake LaMotta

Jake LaMotta was the protagonist of the 1980 film Raging Bull, directed by Martin Scorsese. He was played by Robert DeNiro and based on the real life boxer of the same name.

Biography

Between 1941 and 1951, Jake LaMotta was a successful boxer, coached by his brother, Joey. Early on in the film, Jake is shown to be abusive towards his wife for not cooking his steak fast enough. He would regularly cheat on his wife and one time when he went out against her wishes, he met a young girl named Vicki. As Jake broke up with his wife, he started to date Vicki and they later married. While he was successful in the boxing ring, his animalistic behaviour destroyed his life outside. Jake was extremely jealous and paranoid of his wife having sexual relationships with other men, including Joey. As such, Jake was abusive towards Vicki and frequently beat her up. In the ring, Jake's boxing style was aggressive, and he was said to have "punched a man's nose to the other side of his face". This was partly due to the fact that Vicki commented that the boxer in question looked cute. One day, Jake asked Vicki if she had sex with Joey, and she sarcastically admitted it after Jake forced his way into their bathroom. This caused Jake to fly into a rage and gave Joey a severe beating in his own house, nearly killing him. After this incident, Jake and Joey stopped speaking to each other and this took a toll of Jake's boxing career. Jake lost his final match in 1951 and retired soon after. Vicki still stayed with Jake only for the money. In 1956, Vicki had enough of Jake and left him, taking their kids with her.

Following his retirement, Jake became a nightclub owner and started a comedy career. His comedy was unpopular, and he was often heckled. By 1957, things started to go wrong for Jake when he unwittingly allowed 14 year old girls into his club. He was arrested and jailed for this. During is prison sentence, Jake started to realise he was being punished for his bad actions and had a breakdown in his cell. In 1958, Jake met his enstranged brother Joey. Following an awkward meeting, the two finally forgive each other and they hugged. The film ends with Jake preparing for a comedy routine.