Great character study

Rating: 7/10 (26 April 2001)

"Taxi Driver" is one of those films that was slightly overrated, yet I have no cause for complaints. This is a very impressive character study about the distraught life of a loner who meanders through the streets of New York City. Travis Bickle came to be one of the most famous fictional characters in movie history. Almost every one of us can relate to Travis in some sort of way. And it's great how Scorcese used DeNiro's explicit narration to bring us--literally--into the mind of this relatively harmless loner with unrelenting anger beginning to rise to the surface. And it's the way DeNiro flawlessly portrayed Bickle, displaying every tiny mannerism, that also gets the audience engaged. Sure, this is an unpleasant, graphic journey through this virtual hellhole--but that's exactly what it is! Anyone who's been around the streets of New York City at night--and actually survived!--knows fully well that Scorcese flashes every picturesque detail in our faces to receive a perfect vision of the City That Never Sleeps--which is especially true through the eyes of our protagonist. Later in the film, we watch as Travis works out streneously and purchases guns, mind clouded with thoughts of murder. But that violent episode is a demonstration of the anger that pumps through anybody's veins in his situation, only Travis outwardly acted upon those thoughts. We watch as his love for this young prostitute--played brilliantly by Jodie Foster--blossoms and he will do anything to keep her off the streets and out of the hands of her arrogant pimp.

"Taxi Driver" is an intense, gripping urban drama that draws you in from start to finish. It's deeply engaging in it's portrayal of blue-collar America. The characters are so vivid and realistic and multi-dimensional you feel as you've known these people for years. This movie doesn't have much plot to follow, as it is predominantly character-driven, but it's moving and fast-paced. Aside from breakthrough performances by DeNiro and Foster, I also have to note Peter Boyle who doesn't have a huge part but is also terrific. Plus, there's a great cameo by the great Scorcese as a passenger with suspicions of his philandering wife.
My score: 7 (out of 10)