I think you touch on a couple points that Scorsese intentionally addresses. For one in a typical film with a typical narrative arch, we, as audience members, would develop sympathy for la motta and overlook his personal demons. The film's climactic scene would be a drawn out take of the title fight. However in this film the personal demons are overwhelming and, much like real life, cannot be overlooked. Similarly after the title fight, there's still another half hour or forty minutes left in the film. It's just about defending the belt after he's won it. Scorsese throws out the traditional character that the viewer can sympathize with to portray the senselessness and endless nature of violence. It almost mocks the idea of the audience identifying to strongly with a fighter. Furthermore, la motta is a monster but maybe there's something not so singular about his character. In the opening scene, the crowd breaks out into a brawl. Perhaps la motta is a manifestation of the everyday violence of ordinary, working-class (poor) people. And what if they are merely enacting proletariat despair. Just an idea. I'm not sure what the traditional reading of this film is.
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