One of The Best

Rating: 10/10 (11 May 2019)

Taxi Driver is an interesting film. Featuring some gruesome violence that one expects when watching a Scorsese film, Taxi Driver doesn't go out of its way to try and sugar coat the reality of its world to the viewer. You get a slow build up to the overwhelming dread that this world presents, leading to the audience, at the very least, understanding the actions that Travis performs at the end of the film. The film really builds up to Travis' failed assassination of a presidential candidate, but that's not the most enjoyable part of the film's climax. Travis goes to "save" a young prostitute in a plan which ends in a bloodbath, almost ending in his death (after an attempted suicide of course.) This scene ends with one of my favorite shots of all time, as the action freezes and the camera slowly pulls out from the scene in a bird's eye view which gives the audience time to reflect on not only the horrific scene that just unraveled before them, but also the events that led up to this tragic point. Even better than that, is the ending, which states, in no uncertain terms, that the world views Travis' actions as just. They know not of his attempts at horrendous deeds, so they hold him up as a hero. What's worse, is the film shows that Travis has no plans on stopping. Truly of masterpiece of storytelling, with excellent cinematography to only enhance the viewing experience.