An iconic, ageless film

Rating: 10/10 (20 April 2020)

For me, Taxi Driver is one of those films that I absolutely love, yet find it hard to put into words just how much I appreciate it. It's a strange, dark, brooding film, with very little in the way of plot. As far as the narrative is concerned, it's a pretty straight-forward character study of one of the most interesting yet disturbing characters in the history of film- Travis Bickle, played amazingly by Robert De Niro, in what is perhaps his best performance of his career (actually, maybe second best- I think he's a tiny bit better in Raging Bull, another great Scorsese film).
Throughout the film, we see ex-Vietnam War veteran Travis Bickle attempt to settle into life in New York City. He gets a job, and makes an excruciatingly uncomfortable attempt at getting a girlfriend, but as time goes on, he finds himself more and more alienated from society, and all the while his mind is deteriorating because of his lack of sleep, his loneliness, and his probable internal traumas from fighting in Vietnam. In his delusional state, he comes to see himself as a hero who can clear New York of its crime rates and undesirable citizens, and in the final act he attempts to save an underage prostitute (played extremely well by a disturbingly young Jodie Foster) from the life she has fallen into. This leads to a grim, violent, surreal, yet somewhat inevitable climax which is completely unforgettable.
The style of this film is perfect in letting us feel the mental state Travis Bickle finds himself in. Scorcese pulls off the incredible feat of perfectly visualising Travis' dull, depressing, repetitive life without boring the audience. It's a visual masterpiece- you're not gonna find a whole lot of visual effects, and it's definitely not a traditional spectacle film by any stretch of the imagination, but there's just something so brilliantly hypnotic and surreal about how this movie's shot. Scorsese captures New York City in a way I've never seen in any other film, making it look sleazy, filthy, and unpleasant, and perhaps even going a short way to justifying why Travis feels so compelled to clean the city up.
The screenplay by Paul Schrader is just as good as the directing by Scorsese. He writes dialogue that sounds natural, yet is still quite stylised in some regards. I get the feeling that at least a few scenes in the film were improvised due to how natural the dialogue often sounded, and that may be a testament to how natural the actors while playing their characters. The film is brilliantly paced, as while it may feel somewhat slow at times, it's never boring, as there's always something to think about, or some beautifully realised shot to look at. The narration also works fantastically- narration in films often feels forced, but here it contributes beautifully to allowing the viewer to get an insight into Travis' disturbed mind.
That's perhaps the films greatest achievement- the way the film explores Travis Bickle as a character so well that we as an audience feel as though we know him by the film's end. De Niro is scarily convincing as an actor, Scorsese's personal, intrinsic shots often reflect what Travis is either thinking or feeling, and the narration feeds us Travis' inconsistent, delusional, and often disturbing thoughts on the world around him and the people who inhabit it. It's a character study through and through, and perhaps one of the best out there. It's a fairly confronting film, even by today's standards; (actually, maybe especially by today's standards- I don't believe this film could have ever been made in America in a decade that wasn't the 1970s, which was certainly the most radical, "out-there" decade in USA film history), and some are likely to be turned off because of this, as well as by the slow pacing the film exhibits. But I'd say you have to give the film a shot at least once in your life. It's a movie you have to commit yourself to, but once the film successfully absorbs you into its world and its characters, it becomes a fantastic experience.
The musical score, the acting, the writing, and the direction all add up to something that I'd describe as a masterpiece. Can I guarantee you'll feel the same way about this movie that I do? Definitely not, but you have to give it as least one viewing. It's a famous, iconic film for a reason, and, in my eyes, definitely one for the ages.