Way Ahead of its TIme

Rating: 9/10 (7 March 2016)

Upon revisiting this film for a college course I realized a few things; One being that Robert De Niro may have never given a better performance than Travis Bickle, two being that this film was way more ahead of its time than many 70's noir thrillers, and three being Martin Scorsese is one of the greatest directors of all time. Sure all things many people knew already, but for some reason didn't resonate with me the first time.
Taxi Driver tells the unfortunate story of Travis Bickle, an ex- marine just returning from his time in Vietnam who struggles to cope with paranoid psychosis in 1970's New York. Beginning and ending with trippy colors and stylish music from Bernard Hermann, Taxi Driver gets under your skin only when it wants to and in the most in opportune times. It succeeds in giving you the uncomfortable feeling and anguish most associated with noir and it does so in fashion.
Bickle's skepticism and cynical view of New York City is perfectly portrayed by De Niro as we root for him the entire length of the movie. All of this tends to get him into trouble, but we don't care, because we are so sucked into Bickle's every move and every word that we don't tend to notice just how insane he has become. Of course, the film is iconic for its famous "You talking to me?" line and its brutally violent climax, but its Scorsese's direction of De Niro's performance I will remember most.
With this film comes plenty of questions as to whether or not any of it is actually real or not, which in most cases is valid. But I don't really care one way or another. No matter what, this is a tragic tale of a man lost in a world that he doesn't understand and a world that doesn't understand him. Whether or not the engaging narration is misleading is up to interpretation, but I just know that it's a wonderfully intricate story of a troubled Taxi Driver. If De Niro's encapsulating performance isn't enough for you than perhaps Scorsese's brilliant direction and Bernard Hermann's hauntingly beautiful and stylish score will be. Taxi Driver is a masterpiece.
+De Niro is an all-time best
+Scorsese's meticulous direction
+Engaging in an unfortunately tragic way
+Score
+Noir way ahead of its time
9.5/10