Taxi Driver

One of powerful, for its profound honesty, films. A man lost in its loneliness. Desiring love, without social abilities, example of schizoidy and full of noble intentions. Robert de Niro gives more than the role of his life but a precise, realistic portrait of a social victim. A great film.

Taxi Driver (1976)

**** (out of 4)

Scorsese's masterpiece is a raw, powerful and nerve wrecking look at depression and loneliness. The film centers on taxi driver Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro), a man clearly with his own demons who finds a purpose in life when he meets a 12-year-old hooker (Jodie Foster) who he plans on saving from her pimp (Harvey Keitel). To me this is one of the richest films ever made and it's one that can easily be overlooked in some circles if you don't really connect to what the film is trying to say. I didn't care too much for the movie the first few times I watched it because I was too young to really understand depression and loneliness. After I understood what those things could do to a person is when I fully became aware of the power in this film and today it remains one of the most powerful films ever made. To me the entire film is pretty much about Travis trying to find someone to fit in with but of course it never really happens until he meets the hooker. He tries fitting in with the Cybill Shepherd character but falls flat on his face. He tries fitting in with his co-workers but that doesn't work out too well. No matter what Travis tries he keeps ending up alone and as he put it, he's God's lonely man. This film works on so many levels but I think the psychological one is where it's best at. Getting us into the mind of Travis works for many reasons but the biggest keys are the direction by Scorsese, the brilliant music score by Bernard Herrmann and DeNiro's groundbreaking performance. Putting those three things together is what makes this a classic but we can also throw in the screenplay by Paul Schrader, which rightfully gives the movie the time and patience to let the Travis character grow right in front of our eyes. DeNiro's performance is certainly one for the ages, although I think he would get even better with Scorsese's RAGING BULL, which would follow in four years. His performance here is nothing short of amazing because you can't help but be terrified by this guy because of the look in DeNiro's eyes. You can't help but feel sorry for him at the same time because there are countless moments where he embarrasses himself because he simply doesn't know how to fit in. The word anti-hero gets used a lot and perhaps that's a good term but I think it's something much deeper than that. DeNiro hits all the right marks without a false note anywhere. Foster is also impressive in her few scenes in the film as is Keitel as the pimp. Shepherd is also good as his Albert Brookes and the underrated Peter Boyle who has one of the best scenes in the movie where he's trying to talk some sense into Travis. The visual look of the film is mighty impressive and Scorsese's directing style is nothing short of amazing. The slimy looking streets and the dark atmosphere are one of a kind and something many films tried to copy but could never get it as perfect as it is here. This here remains one of the greatest American films ever made and I'm really not sure any movie could top it in showing the effects that loneliness can have on a person.

The impact that "Taxi Driver" had in its day hasn't diminished, on the contrary, it has acquired a relevance of Shakesperean proportions. Travis's loneliness is a hyper representation of the same loneliness most humans have experienced at different times in different measures. It is always associated with a nightmare and Martin Scorsese delivers it like a nightmare. Travis, possessed by Robert De Niro at the zenith of his powers, cruises in his taxi enveloped in Bernard Herrman and we, well, we're the passengers and everything looks terrifying and familiar at the same time. Paul Schrader sensational screenplay comes to life with the jolting force of a rude awakening. Like it happens, more often than not, with masterpieces, it signed in a rather direct way the lives of the ones who live it in a movie theater and the ones who made it. Scorsese being the giant that he is, survived it and will continue startling us I'm sure but I also bet that for years everything he did was compared to this movie. De Niro and his "You looking at me" became such an iconic phrase that even he himself ended up impersonating it. Jodie Foster awoke the insane devotion of a real life would be killer and New York, the greatest city in the world was shown with its underbelly up. A work of art, a superlative reminder of what film could actually give us and very rarely does.

Not only one of Scorsese's best films, but one of the best of the 70s. It is very hard hitting, dark and still has the resonance and power to shock. The cinematography is measured and chilly, yet very atmospheric, while Bernard Hermann's swansong score is superb, yet more proof at how amazing a composer he was. The story is unsettling but wonderfully told, and the script is brilliantly written. Scorcese also directs impeccably, while the acting is just excellent. Robert DeNiro gives one of his best performances, the whole film is worth watching just for his performance, that's how good it is, but that's not to dismiss Jodie Foster, Harvey Keitel and Cybill Sheppard in the supporting cast for they are just as good while Scorsese's own cameo is genuinely frightening. There you have it, another one of Scorsese's best with a brilliant atmosphere and mesmerising central performance. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Travis Bickle (Robert DeNiro) is a disturbed ex-Marine Vietnam vet. He's suffering from insomnia, and spends his nights driving a cab. He's sexually perverted, and obsessed with Betsy (Cybill Shepherd). On top of it all, he wants to save 12 year old prostitute Iris (Jodie Foster).

DeNiro delivered one of the iconic performances of all times. Travis Bickle is one of the standards by which all performances are judged. Martin Scorsese is making a disturbing movie. It can be hard to watch at times. Scorsese uses his camera to maximum effect. As Bickle's mind drift from his co-workers, Scorsese's camera drift into the antacid fizzling in his glass. The grittiness of '70s NY is all there. Jodie Foster is shocking. Trying to watch Bickle can be a very trying experience. It isn't an easy movie. But it is a masterpiece.