Taxi Driver (1976)
Director: Martin Scorsese
Writer: Paul Schrader
Stars: Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd
Runtime: 113 minutes
Plot: A mentally unstable Vietnam war veteran works as a night-time taxi driver in New York City where the perceived decadence and sleaze feeds his urge for violent action, attempting to save a preadolescent prostitute in the process.
Review: Taxi Driver features Robert De Niro in top form. From his first scene in Taxi Driver, De Niro is Travis Bickle, a 26-year old ex-Marine searching for work that will keep him up all night as a means of combating insomnia. At the outset, Travis is a lonely, disillusioned man who can still function within the "normal" constraints of society. As time passes, however, Travis becomes increasingly alienated from the world around him, spiraling into a state of dissociated delusion. He sees New York City as a place of urban decay populated by "animals" and "scum" that need to be swept away. And who better than him to initiate the process? De Niro's performance is so perfectly-tuned that the audience don't have a moment's doubt or disbelief about what's taking place in Travis' troubled mind.
There's no doubt that Taxi Driver paints an extremely disturbing portrait. This is expert film making from Scorsese, cinematographer Michael Chapman, and the actors. Schrader's script, which was inspired by such diverse works as Dostoevsky's Notes From Underground and Harry Chapin's song, "Taxi," is a masterful psychological study, the depth of which can only fully be appreciated on repeat viewings.
Despite the passage of two decades, the only thing dated about this film is the fashions. Taxi Driver's message still rings as true as ever and the characters are as shockingly believable as in the mid-seventies. It's a proper classic and an absolute must watch.
Reviewed by Intisab Shahriyar
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