Will stay with you forever!

Rating: 9/10 (8 July 2011)

Plot
Travis Bickle begins working as a taxi driver in New York City. As Travis sees much of the city during his late hours and longs shifts, he becomes disgusted with the 'scum' that live and operate in it. This provokes Travis' to commit a violent act and he is driven to the edge of sanity. He plots to assassinate a senator and rescue a young prostitute.
Review
Only truly special films win the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and 'Taxi Driver' is without doubt a truly special film.
De Niro's performance and portrayal of Travis is frighteningly realistic, I had to keep reassuring myself that it was De Niro and not some nut job taxi driver that Scorsese had simply went out and found. We will watch in awe as he portrays a man who puts his words into actions and responds to the 'scum' who feed his need for violence. De Niro pulls out all the stops to give a spectacular and disturbing performance and one that will live long in the memory.
The character Travis Bickle is without a doubt one of the most amazing, interesting characters ever to grace cinema. Travis as a character will leave you speechless. He has 'bad ideas' that are revealed to the audience more as the film progresses, he gradually becomes obsessed with killing Senator Pallantyne and saving a a young prostitute. His increasingly worrying diary entries point to the direction of violence, which prepares the audience for something significant and presents an imminent danger. But its the little things about Travis that will stay in your mind, his tough guy persona when he's alone with his gun, and his memorable lines such as 'You Talking To Me!'. Sure we know Travis is a strange person from the beginning as he doesn't seem to visit a porn cinema for pleasure and he speaks rather openly to Betsy on their first date, referring to the 'connection' between the two although they have just met. However we overlook this due to his likability, as does Betsy. We see though that his fantasies become realities, somewhat unsurprisingly however as Travis speaks early on about his desire to 'clean up the scum' and as we watch his actions during the climax, we know that Travis go down as one of the greatest characters in cinematic history.
The film is about isolation in a society full of wrongdoings and crime. Travis is a very lonely and isolated character and we learn this from the beginning of the film. His only attempt to achieve company goes to no avail as he takes Betsy to a porn film and she is appalled, further strengthening a viewers perception that Travis is detached from society and the 'scum' that are a part of it, he lives amongst his fantasies of violence and we learn early on that he is a troubled and unstable individual, however his attempt to achieve a form of stability and company through Betsy collapses and Travis tells her 'you're in hell, and you're gonna die in hell like the rest of em' this 'hell' as he calls it is simply society, and the isolation of himself from this city of 'scum'. He sees Betsy as something different at first, but then he views her in the same light as everyone else after she doesn't take his calls for quite obvious and understandable reasons. This could be seen as Travis living in a fantasy world rather than real life, and his loneliness is fuelled by his detachment from real life, his perception of the city may be because he does not view everyone in his own image although Travis is far from perfect and we see this in many instances in the film hence the reason Travis could be seen as responsible for his own loneliness and isolation. However the fact that Travis puts his words into actions may disclaim this and show that he is the anti- hero of the film who is an anomaly in a distasteful city and his loneliness is in fact understandable and Travis Bickle may be misunderstood by many, by saving Iris this presents Travis as different to the rest, he tries to stand up and be counted for at the end of the film and could be viewed as the good guy who uses 'true force' to revolt against a differing city. Is Travis to blame for his isolation and detachment? it is debatable but the themes of loneliness, detachment and isolation are a significant inclusion by Scorsese and Schrader's script certainly highlights these debatable but fascinating themes.
The film is expertly executed and some of the inclusions and scenes are amazingly directed. The music by Bernard Herrmann that plays during the start of the film is seductive but has a catastrophic quality and Scorsese's choice of cinematographer Michael Chapmann is also ideal, his lighting and camera choices contribute towards a brilliant film. Scorsese has perfected the memorable scenes, Travis standing in front of the mirror trying out his guns, Travis bursting into the brothel bearing a psychotic grin and wielding handguns subsequently massacring pimps and clients. The way Scorsese has used dialogue creates moods that are fascinating for a watching audience. The fact that Scorsese brought in De Niro earns merit, he tops off a complete trio of Schrader, Scorsese and De Niro that works perfectly together.
Summary
'Taxi Driver' is one of those films that will stay with you forever, its something truly special. The all round fantastic acting, the directors inclusions and Schrader's script make an all round sublime film that you will never forget. Simply stunning!