A New-York-style self-exorcism

Rating: 10/10 (11 April 2018)

There is something intrinsically poetic in the neo-noir delivery of Taxi Driver. A run-down New York City of the 70's, the soft jazz score that permeates in and out as the story progresses in the midst of the eventual, yet ever so present, lack of absolute register on film; all contribute to the strong screen presence of a young DeNiro playing Travis Bickle, a fellow that double takes as the story's protagonist and narrator.
Travis Bickle, a mentally unstable veteran, exorcizes his demons by working as a night-shift checkered cab driver in New York City. Under the cloak of the night, he cruises the City and gets to witness a reality that is not socially suitable for daytime mores. In the course of one of such rides, Travis is faced with a wilting flower that causes him to pause and reassess the many spheres he transits through daily. Out of this dualism, Travis' perverted views of reality start to materialize and, as such, he becomes both hero and hitman.
A Mohawk, then, ensues.
But one miscalculated move leads to a heartbreak that drives Travis over the edge. Then, heavily armed and washing his meds down with beer, he sets out to right two wrongs; one perceived and the other actual. A failed murder attempt, symbolic of Travis' inner naïveté, leads to an impetuous and bloody showdown that brings him to a near-ultimate atonement before a pseudo trinity.
As a result, one Iris is set free and is back in due full bloom. With a mended heart, Travis lives on to tell the story.
Lack of absolute register returns, fades to black.
The End.