Taxi Driver Is A Scorsese's Masterpiece And Presents De Niro At His Best

Rating: 10/10 (11 June 2016)

Many movie fans throughout the years worldwide have heard of a movie character called Travis Bickle and his most famous quote,"Are you talking to me?".Paul Shrader wrote a classic screenplay and filmmaker Martin Scorsese directed a psychological thriller classic about urban alienation and loneliness that remains popular all throughout the years entitled "Taxi Driver".Legendary actor Robert De Niro portrayed Travis in what could have been arguably the best role that he ever portrayed in cinema only in comparison with his Oscar-winning roles such as the young Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II and Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull.
Shrader's screenplay tells a story of an ex-marine Travis Bickle,who happens to work as a taxi driver due to being an insomniac.He drives passengers to different decaying parts of New York during the 1970's.His inability to connect with anyone provided him a lot of difficulties in establishing a relationship.He first becomes infatuated with a beauteous blonde who works for the presidential campaign of candidate Charles Palantine in Betsy.Unfortunately, their relationship ends abruptly after bringing her on a date in a porn theater.Things become wary after decides to arm himself with guns after meeting with a malevolent passenger.He tries to assassinate Palantine.But after failing to do so,he decides to instead save the 12-year old prostitute Iris from her pimp Sport.This ends in a bloodbath and he becomes a hero in a process.
Taxi Driver may require more than one viewings to get an understanding of the psychology and personality of Travis Bickle.Aside from that,one must also understand the situation back in the 1970's when the U.S. is involved in the Vietnam War and when the Watergate scandal happened to led to the resignation of President Nixon.Audience of today may find this film difficult to comprehend especially for those who were born after the it was released in '76.But despite of this,there are will always be multiple ways to discern it for Scorsese has left it in the minds of the viewer.But in spite of this,I still would consider this truly a masterpiece and one of the best films ever released.