Martin Scorsese's best film, and the best film of motion picture history

Rating: 10/10 (16 April 2009)

Taxi Driver is easily my favourite film of all time. Why? It's simple. Robert Di Nero plays a Vietnam veteran named Travis Bickle, who is emotionally unstable, socially inept, depressed and lonely. He suffers from insomnia and decides to become a taxi driver, working at night shifts from (and I quote) '8 in the evening to 6 in the morning, sometimes 8 in the morning. I work 6 days a week, sometimes 7 days a week. It's a real hassle but at least it keeps me busy.'
I'm not gonna give away any major plot details about Taxi Driver; it's a film everyone should see with no spoilers. It didn't grab my attention at first, but I was blown away after seeing it through to the end. I think it's the most important, powerful film of the 1970s, if not, motion picture history. As an only-child and insecure teenager, I often feel incredibly unstable and lonely, so I can really empathise with the character's isolation and descent into madness and alienation. I guess another thing that makes me tick about this film is the superb acting by Robert Di Nero. Before I saw the film, the only knew him from Meet the Parents, in which I perceived Di Nero as a strict, yet well respected, cool, wealthy, 'winner' type guy; a real catch. Watching him play a violent, unlikable, menacing loner who later gets a mo-hawk, in 1970s X-rated Taxi Driver, however, cranks me up, so as you can imagine, I am in awe of the actor's amazing versatility.
Taxi Driver is a timeless work of art; a masterpiece. I haven't seen a film depicting mental illness as well as this. I first saw it last year and it hasn't dated one bit, unlike Scorsese's other work such Mean Streets and Raging Bull. It's full of chilling moments, and Robert Di Nero does a flawless, monotonous narration, fuelled with quotes I will never forget such as 'by the time I finish my shift, I wipe the c** off the back seat. Sometimes, I wipe off the blood.' and (talking to his passenger President Palatine 'I think it's time we moved on flushed it down the f***ing toilet.' (I am aware that my quotes are not entirely accurate). There are no other films that have provoked me as well as this, and I doubt there ever will be.
Classic! 10 out of 10