Taxi Driver marks the end of an era known as the "New Hollywood". At the time around the late 1960s when the big production studios were in crisis and a wind of protest and change was blowing in the United States there was a new generation of young, ambitious filmmakers rising from the underground. One of them was the great Martin Scorsese who started his career in 1967 with "Who's that knockin' at my door?" and just made his first 3D movie in 2011. After gaining critical acclaim with films like "Mean streets" and "Alice doesnt live anymore" Scorsese made his first true masterpiece and one of my favorite movies with "Taxi Driver" that is still widely regarded as (one of) the best films of the 70s.
As so often with Scorsese's films "Taxi Driver" plays in the streets of New York City where he grew up. From the opening credits it's clear that this is not a beautiful place to be. At least Travis Bickle thinks that the city is full of dirt and scum and hopes that one day a rain will wash all of that off the streets.
He is introduced with a close up on his eyes that are filled with hatred and disgust watching the people on the sidewalks while sitting isolated in his taxi. It's a dark and rainy night and the blurred colors and the nightmarish setting already hint at Travis' distorted perception of reality and create a tense atmosphere.
The story is told very subjectively from his point of view. In a voice-over we hear about Travis evil thoughts and ideas. Robert de Niro embodies the character that is one of the most iconic roles in movie history. It's a chilling, hypnotic performance and the second time DeNiro worked with Scorsese which would of course become one of the most famous and successful collaborations of an actor and a director that counts eight movies until today and could be seen in "Casino" in 1995 for the last time.
For preparation method actor De Niro also was driving taxi in New York for several months. Travis wanted the job because he can't sleep at night. The vietnam vet struggles with emotional problems. Day and night he is sitting alone in his yellow Taxi describing himself as 'god's loneliest man".
His only gleam of hope is the campaign aide Betsy (Cybill Sheperd). After observing her for quite a while he approaches her one day and asks for a date. At first Betsy is kind of fascinated by this strange man but soon she realizes that there is something wrong with Travis.
His behavior is often alienating. As Betsy points out he is full of contradictions. Indeed he is. He regularly goes to the porn theater even though he probably condemns everyone else who does so, he takes pills to stay awake, he writes obscure posts in his journal and occasionally talks to himself. One of the most famous lines is the one when Travis stands in front of a mirror and asks "Are you talkin' to me?". That scene is based on an improvisation by De Niro.
While Travis' obsessive and aggressive attitude repeatedly gets confirmed when he is driving around weirdos at night, he drifts more and more into loneliness and alienation. He does not understand the world he lives in and all his miserable attempts to adapt and to integrate himself fail. His collegues can't give him any helpful advice either.
His disorientation seems to be erased when he meets the prostitute Iris. She is terrifically played by a very young Jody Foster who has been only 13 years old at that time so her mother had to be on set during all of the shooting for legal reasons. Iris is drug addicted and works for a pimp named Sport (Harvey Keitel).
Travis thinks it is his duty to help Iris to break out and escape from her life and return to her parents. In his illusion he doesn't realize that Iris maybe doesn't want his help and that it is himself who searches for redemption and peace. But there seems to be no one to help Travis. He starts to get in shape and soon buys a gun ...
"Taxi Driver" is a mesmerizing portrait of a sociopath, a ticking time bomb. The slow paced film builds up an incredible amount of tension until it is eventually released in a most brutal, intense and ironic way.
De Niro sacrificially plays the ambivalent taxi driver on the edge of madness. His enormous screen presence overshadows everything in the film. Still the supporting cast is very good throughout. We also see a very young Albert Brooks as one of Betsy's overly ambitious and jealous co-workers. Even Scorsese himself has one or two short appearances.
The brillant screenplay by Paul Schrader is spot on and perfectly portrays pure darkness in the soul of a desperate man. This creepy New York nightmare is also visually absolutely thrilling and creates an odd mood of danger and absurdity that masterfully supports De Niro's stunning acting performance. For the last few minutes of the film the colors had to be desaturated to get the film an R-Rating.
It's one of the most intense climaxes I've ever seen and features one of my favorite shots in history.
Scorsese then went on to do "Raging Bull" that is regarded as his best film by most critics and also as the best of the following decade. I prefer "Taxi Driver". Even a master as Scorsese has recently not been able to tie in with his masterpieces from the past. "The Aviator" or "Shutter Island" are examples of a great director being out of form.
"Taxi Driver", however, is an indisputable, unforgetable milestone.
TRAILER:
Watch the Trailer for 'Taxi Driver' on Youtube
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