Scorsese's Analysis of Masculinity, Unchecked Aggression, Violence and a Psychopath

Rating: 9/10 (29 May 2019)

Taxi Driver may be one of cinemas best character studies. The story follows Travis Bickle a Vietnam veteran now employed as a taxi driver in New York City who thinks the world has gone to hell and needs to be cleansed by someone like him through violence. Robert De Niro in one of his best performances plays Travis like a ticking time bomb who off go off at any moment. He is aggressive, cynical and craves violence. De Niro uses both subtlety and occasional spontaneous outbursts to show the audience Travis's mental state and to communicate that this is not a man to aspire to. Scorsese uses the camera expertly with it acting as almost and observer judging Travis. He uses clever and interesting angles to hint towards Travis's violent cravings (most noticeably the first person perspective when Travis aims a gun out the window and the glance in the rear view mirror at the end of the film). Scorsese creates a seedy and dirty version of New York City with literal piles of trash on side walks in some scenes in the movie with prostitutes and pimps as side characters. Taxi Driver is a shocking film that is expertly acted by Robert De Niro and Directed by Martin Scorsese in one of their many collaborations together. The film is intense, brutal and violent at times but that is exactly how one would describe Travis.