God's lonely man takes a look in the mirror in "Taxi Driver"

Rating: 10/10 (5 July 2005)

Taxi Driver is a masterful art film of the highest caliber. It is my second favorite film of all time, second only to Apocalypse Now. The film is a journey that forces the viewer to travel deep within the mind of a man who is all alone, lost within a crowd of millions. Travis Bickle, played to perfection by Robert De Niro, is sick of all of the scum that walks the streets of New York. He searches for some sort of purity and beauty, and finds it in Betsy. Unfortunately, he allows the scum of the Earth to ruin his relationship with her. And it is his fault. Thus, he joins the scum of the Earth, in his own way. He realizes this, and knows that he has to do something about it. In a search for meaning in his life, he ultimately decides to unleash his rage on scum. He lets the rain wash the trash away. The shootout at the finale is fierce, violent, and breathtaking. In the end, justice is served, in a strange way. Bang! Bang! Bang! Taxi Driver is Martin Scorsese's masterpiece. The visuals are painted on the screen. And the score is one that will never get out of your head. And what a fantastic screenplay.