well acted, well directed, thought provoking, emotionally stirring

Rating: 10/10 (19 August 2003)

It seems that a lot of people do not think a whole lot of that movie (a lot do, otherwise it wouldn't be so high on the top 250 list). I think this is maybe because this may not be a movie that you can particularly joy. Travis is a character in a dead end life seeking purpose, and is disgusted with his surrounding environment.
How many of us at once have been disgusted with the filth of our surroundings, or been disappointed with humanity as a whole? How many of us have found a person who we thought was an exception, only to inexplicably lose that person? Travis Bickle was an intriguing character because he was a peculiar combination of elements- moral righteousness, as evidenced by his treatment of Jodie Foster's character later in the movie, general naivete- as evidenced by his interpersonal relationships, especially with Betsy- and desperation and frustration with his own existence, manifested in going over the edge- as seen at the end of the movie. He was lashing out at the world, but did not know how. I think that his character, and also the superb acting job by Deniro, and the camerawork and script engineered by Scorsese, made the movie amazing. There's something about Travis Bickle that all of us can relate to in some fashion or another, and the creation of such a character on its own distinguishes this movie from the rest. The ending left something to think about, and the entire movie showed flashes of frustration at the lack of satisfaction in life, which we all feel at some point. 10 out of 10.