Funny, Powerful, Charming and Unforgettable

Rating: Null/10 (15 October 2000)

Those four words are the best I can use to describe this film. Very few times in film history has there ever been a character as real as Robert DeNiro's "Travis Bickle". Anyone who has ever gone through a period in their life of loneliness or isolation can relate to Travis Bickle. The only fictional character I can think of that has the amount of depth and authenticity of Travis Bickle is Holden Caufield in the novel "Catcher In The Rye". In fact, I can see many similarities between the two characters. While Holden Caufield's mental breakdown did not have the consequences of Travis Bickle's, they both shared many of the same character traits. Both had dark, cynical views of the world, both were tremendously charming, but at the same time lacked the social skills to benefit from their charm, thus both were extremely isolated and lonely individuals. Both were extremely respectful towards women and held them to the highest esteem. I guess you can say Holden held an advantage in intelligence over Travis, as Travis held a slight advantage in confidence over Holden, but still, I can see many similarities between the two characters and am surprised no one has made the same comparison.
The film itself is a brilliant character study and a gritty and unforgettable look at urban life. Scorsese's vision of New York's urban jungle from the front seat of a taxicab is one of the most mesmerizing film experiences you'll ever witness. The film also features a career establishing and gutsy performance by a 14 year old Jodie Foster as the pre-teen prostitute that becomes Travis's focal point of redemption in the movie. Cybil Shepherd's performance as Betsy, the fixation of Travis, is tremendously underrated. She pulls off just the right amount of grace to Travis's charm to make this film work. You can feel the instantaneous chemistry between the two characters. If only Travis had the social skills!
There isn't much else I can add to this movie that hasn't already been said by the other people who've reviewed this, but I can say that this is my favorite movie of all-time and a movie that never seems to lose it's power over repeated viewing's. In fact, I seem to find something in each viewing that makes repeated viewing's of Taxi Driver an experience all on their own. I give it a 10 out of 10!