It honestly might be the best movie ever.

Rating: 10/10 (27 April 2002)

My god...
The direction by Martin Scorsese proves his talent. The script by Paul Schrader proves his talent. The acting by Robert DeNiro proves his talent. This is a movie dripping with talent. It was marinated in talent and then wrapped up in a talent crepe.
Scorsese uses inventive camera angels and great color techniques. He gives the actors an obvious motivation. It's hard to explain great direction, but Scorsese was magnificent.
Before I praise Schrader's script, I'll say that a lot of the movie was ad-libbed. In fact, the famous "You talkin' to me?" was totally improvised by DeNiro. That being said, It's fantastic writing. The very minute details that were written into the script, (I know this because I got the DVD special edition), make him fantastic.
This movie MADE Robert DeNiro for me. I think almost anyone can testify to DeNiro's talent, but you ain't seen nothing till you've seen this movie. He's so subtle, but manages to be really powerful. The viewer is torn among hating Travis, feeling really sorry for him, loving him, etc. There's something about his eyes...there's no way of knowing what's going on behind them. He's so multi-faceted. (An overused phrase, I know, but it is relevant to this performance.)
Jodie Foster is a questionable choice for the role of Easy, but I guess she was the only person around, especially the only one whose mom would let her take it. And Martin Scorsese had worked with her.
My grade: A+