The eyes of a lost soul.

Rating: 8/10 (31 December 2008)

Some movies have the power and the immediacy to get into your head and wash way any preconceptions and reservations of how they are made. Movies like Gone With The Wind, Star Wars, The Godfather, and 2001's A Space Oddessey, are one of the few that can achieve this goal. With Taxi Driver, directed by Martin Scorsese, this film pulls you in and never lets go.
The premise of this urban tale deals with a lost soul living amongst the gritty decadence filled with sleazy, unscrupulous individuals, violence and crime. He goes about his days picking up fares along the way. However, his mind descends further into madness and anger until he finally....snaps.
What Scorsese has achieved is nothing short of amazing. The cinematography completely absorbs you into '70s era of NYC with an air of authentically mesmerizing atmosphere punctuated by on the edge lashing out fury with a riveting score that sets the tone of the film perfectly. Overriding this all is the stunning performance of Robert Deniro, who gives the central character of the piece a conflicting angst antihero whose only chance may be that of possible redemption is when he meets a a young prostitute (played by Jodie Foster)torn between her family and the doomed society that she inhabits. Cybil Sheperd and Harvey Kietel give good supporting performances as well; although Cybil's is a little weak in spots but still tops it off.
This is more than just a film. It is a diatribe of a man who views the world as dark, bleak, and violent. It is the story of a man who longs for companionship. Ultimately, it is the story of a man who lashes out at the world.