09/17/09 - Taxi Driver

Taxi Driver (1976, 113 min)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075314/

It seems like forever ago when I watched Taxi Driver. School and everything took me for a wild ride since then and I haven't been able to really settle down until later. Unfortunately, "later" isn't even come yet as I'm still crazy busy right now but am forcing myself to take time away to squeeze in these comments. Anyway, on to Taxi Driver.

Martin Scorsese's umpteenth collaboration with Robert De Niro is Taxi Driver. In this film De Niro plays Travis Bickle, a returning Vietnam War veteran who takes up the job of a late night taxi driver in New York City since he can't sleep. Co-starring are the "love interests" in two different senses of the word. The first is the campaign worker Betsy (Cybill Shepherd) who De Niro sees as the most beautiful girl in the city. The second is the child prostitute Iris (Jodie Foster) who De Niro wants to save from her troubled life. Martin Scorsese himself stars as a troubled taxi rider and Harvey Keitel plays Iris's pimp, nicknamed Sport.

I haven't really enjoyed any of the Scorsese and De Niro combinations that I've seen, or really much of Scorsese's stuff. I acknowledge that it's very well done but it just doesn't do it for me. Taxi Driver is an exception. There's phenomenal acting here by De Niro and it creates a much more enjoyable movie than Goodfellas or Raging Bull in my opinion. The psychological problems of De Niro's Bickle are palpable on the screen and his awkwardness in social situations is expertly handled. To see his complete rejection by everyone around him (except a few coworkers) is terrifyingly real. As the movie is a character piece, he's far and away the forefront of the movie with just about every scene featuring him. The rest of the cast is a good enough supporting cast.

I knew that the ending was going to be bloody and violent, especially for 1976 standards. I didn't know exactly what to expect though. Overall, I liked this part the best. One aspect of it that's amazing is how Bickle is viewed as a redeemed character for his slayings of the underworld criminals in Sport and all of them. However, had he gone through with his assassination attempt of the campaigning president he would have been deemed as a criminal with no redemption at all. I find this point fascinating. It forces us to see Bickle's character in an entirely different light and adds a whole new layer of depth to the movie.

Overall, I gave this film an 8/10. It's an excellent movie with top-notch acting. To go along with that, there's memorable characters and an above average score that creates a great New York feel (along with an incredible use of "Late for the Sky" by Jackson Browne). This movie was surprising for all the right reasons and I'm glad I watched it.

[Note: Due to a voting update, I have changed the rating of Taxi Driver to a 9/10.]