An ode to the lonely and deranged

Rating: 8/10 (30 December 2006)

Scorsese's TAXI DRIVER is an ode to the lonely and deranged, in this case a NYC cab driver named Travis Bickle (Robert DeNiro). A Marine veteran and insomniac who is under heavy medication, Bickle is working up a head of steam about life in the jungle -- and NYC in 1976 was definitely a jungle, which the film's cinematographer captures perfectly. Bickle purchases several guns from a shady dealer and decides to kill a presidential hopeful, primarily because an aide to the candidate (the young and fetching Cybill Shepherd) has spurned his advances. What comes next is right out of a fairy tale. Without giving it away, let us say Bickle becomes a hero instead of a villain, like that nutcase Bernie Goetz who blew away his would-be muggers on the subway. Ah irony. This early Scorsese flick is really a showcase for the incredible talents of DeNiro. It also features a very young Jodie Foster as a cynical prostitute with whom Bickle becomes enamored. Foster won an Oscar for this role, as I recall. The film is dated by necessity. Much of what is on screen is now gone, passed on. Times Square was a cesspool when this movie was made, not the DisneyWorld extension it has become. Nevertheless, TAXI DRIVER remains extremely watchable, mainly because of DeNiro's intense performance. Harvey Keitel in a bizarre wig and hat has a small role as Foster's pimp, as does Peter Boyle as a fellow cab driver.