Technically polished but ultimately a very ugly film

Rating: 6/10 (3 November 2019)

I have this problem with a lot of Scorsese films but Taxi Driver is a thoughtful exploration of how a damaged psyche coupled with the Vietnam era violence, just below the surface, of the system, results in self destructive behavior. It deals with how media, capital and the disillusionment with America leads to isolation and alienation, especially for young white men of that time period. And how media narratives reduce such damaged people down to tropes which are often wrong. I see the cinematic influences of the French New Waver-i.e. jump cuts-and the legacy of cinema's past-i.e. this is a twisted noir take on the Searchers-that make the film pop cinematically. And De Niro's performance is extremely well considered. But for all that I simply don't care. I don't care how the techniques are used. And I don't care about the thoughtful exploration. At the end of the day Travis Bickle is the worse of us and while the film does not celebrate him per se I don't find much beauty or sublimity in exploring such figures.
The film is ugly. I don't mean the film is displeasing to the eye, because it largely isn't. (And the sections that are are intentionally displeasing) I don't mean the film is morally abhorrent or treats its subject in a ethically comprised way. I mean at the end of the day this is more a thesis on a certain set of intellectual concerns than an emotive piece of art. It is not an experience. The film is fundamentally malformed as a piece of cinema. This may be a film lover's film but it is not what films are for. I want to be as clear as possible. The film's subject matter is not the issue-MIdnight Cowboy is a very beautiful film that explores related material from roughly the same time period-it is the manner in which Scorsese as intellectualized the material coupled with the darker themes that is the turnoff. This is technically brilliant film making put into service for the worse the cinema has to offer.