A powerhouse of a film

Rating: 10/10 (28 May 2000)

I didn't know much about this film. I knew Jodie Foster was in it, and Robert De Niro. I knew about the 'you looking at me?'-part. But apart from that, I sat down with this film, knowing nothing about it.
I have only seen it once, but I can't wait to see it again. It's one of those films that seem to unfold and develop, but once you've finished watching it, you see that it was like that all along. You want to see it again, armed with hindsight.
A few words about the supporting cast. Jodie Foster is impressive, even though she is only on screen for about 10 minutes altogether. Harvey Keitel is wonderful and the sleazy, manipulative pimp Matthew 'Sport'.
But Robert De Niro is, of course, the dominant role in this film. His unstable psyche is slowly revealed, but his near-total lack of social skills and weird behaviour is seen early on. But we don't see the extent of them until circumstances (Cybill Shepherd's Betsy and a character played by Scorsese himself) and his decisions drive him right down to the bottom. And I mean *right* down. And at the bottom, what do we find? Nobility. The last thing you'd expect to find there. But there it is, in a warped yet instantly recognizable form. Excellence on film.