Martin Scorsese's New Hollywood masterpiece about loneliness and redemption

Rating: 9/10 (13 March 2016)

In the early 70s Martin Scorsese was quickly gaining popularity, he had become a part of the New Hollywood movement. Films like Who's That Knocking At My Door? And Mean Streets perfectly encapsulate what the movement was all about. Yes Scorsese was on the rise to the top. And he finally reached the top with his 1976 film Taxi Driver.
Taxi Driver tells the story of the depressed insomniac Vietnam war vet Travis Bickle, played by arguably the greatest actor of all time Robert De Niro, who gets a job as a graveyard shift taxi driver. Travis spends his off hours in porn theaters and stalking a woman called Betsy, played by Cybill Shepard, who works for senator/presidential candidate Charles Palantine. Eventually Bickle convinces Betsy to go on a date with him, which ends horribly after he takes her to a porno. After Betsy's rejection, Bickle spirals down a hole of hatred contempt and isolation, he rambles on madly about wanting to clean the filth of the streets. But Bickle finds new purpose after he meats the underage prostitute Iris, (played by Jodie Foster who was only 13 when the film was being made.) Bickle decides that his life's purpose is to protect Iris no matter the cost. Taxi Diver is a story of loneliness, the story of a man who was overlooked by a society that he now hates. Robert De Niro perfectly captures that essence. To prepare for the role De Niro lost 35 pounds, got a job as a New York cabbie, and even listened to the tapes of Arthur Bremer, who attempted to assassinate U.S. Presidential candidate George Wallace. Everything about De Niro's performance is flawless, from the way he stumbles over his words and his thoughts come out like a distorted broken stream of insanity. Or his dead stare of complete contempt when he sees small-time hoods walking on the street. Or the famous ad-libbed "You talking to me?" scene. Or that haunting smile he has on his face in the climax of the film. De Niro definitely gave us a performance for the history books.
Martin Scorsese is one of the greatest directors of all-time, and he shines through in Taxi Driver. Scorsese is able to capture the audience and force them into the world of the crazed Travis Bickle, by keeping the film in a constant quick descent into his madness. In order to achieve this flow Scorsese will often have the camera move even if just slightly, especially in the first half of the film before we our fully immersed in his dark film. This flow of camera movement and sharp editing allows him to better control his audience. Scorsese also traps us in the world of Travis Bickle by paying close attention to background detail, throughout the film there we are constantly surrounded by propaganda for Palantine, and yet his opponent is never even mentioned, or when Travis mentions to Betsy that he's going to get a sign that says, "one of these days I'm gonna get organiz- ized" and then latter in the film when he is organized that sign is hanging in his crappy apartment. Or how Scorsese focuses on all of the "scum" that Travis talks about. (Whores fighting in the streets, pimps sitting in Restaurants.) Oh and also pay close attention to how pills are used throughout the film. All of this attention to detail really makes the audience feel like their stuck in the terrible world of Bickle.
Paul Schrader, who worked with Scorsese several times, wrote the screenplay for Taxi Driver. And the Screenplay is a work of pure genius. Well most of it is, there is one flaw with the screenplay that is actually the only flaw I have with the entire film. In a later scene in the film, Iris is talking to her pimp, (played by Martin Scorsese regular Harvey Keitel.) who she calls sport. The scene itself is great, both actors are fantastic and it gives context to Iris's situation. But the problem with the scene is that it cuts away from Travis Bickle. It's the only scene in the whole film to do that and it really breaks the films flow, because it means we have to exit the mind of Bickle. The scene just temporally derails the film, in would be much better without it. But going back to Jodie Foster, she is just amazing in the film. It's really hard to believe she was only 13 when they made it. She was nominated for best supporting actress but she really should have won. Bernard Hermann, one of the greatest film composers of all time, scored Taxi Driver (the final film he scored.) and needless to say, it's flawless. The way it moves from a quick loud jazz drum kit, to a smooth saxophone is just perfect. The soundtrack fully captures the feel of the gritty underbelly of New York.
Taxi Driver was only nominated for four Oscars when it was first released and won none, but it did win the Palme d'Or. As time went on it slowly began to be considered one of the greatest films of all time, it made it onto Roger Ebert's Great Movie's, placed 31st on Sight and Sounds critic poll, and 5th on their directors poll. It was also added to the United States National Film Registry in 1994. Taxi Driver legacy has not been all good. In 1981 John Hinckley shaved his hair into a Mohawk, and tried to assassinate Ronald Reagan in order to impress Jodi Foster. But even with that unfortunate incident Taxi Driver became a perfect example of American filmmaking, showing how in-genius and dark it could be.
9.9/10