Taxi Driver – 1976, Martin Scorsese
To me, no film represents the 1970’s better than Scorsese’s ‘Taxi Driver’. For anyone who was an adult in 1960’s America, the 70’s were a pretty bad time. The war in Vietnam was ending, and the soldiers who weren’t scared for life were left directionless in a country where they were the enemy. For the hippies and protesters, there was nothing to fight against, and were feeling the hangover from a decade of physical and chemical abuse. The fact is, no matter where you sided politically, by 1975 a country was without purpose, without a cause, and simply tiered of the fight, but unable to break out of the war mindset. Travis Bickle, a war veteran himself, sums up a whole generation at the time. This is a man looking for a cause. An insomniac, a loner, someone at the very bottom of the rotting pile of sin that was New York City. He detests the scum of the streets, but like so many others is so jaded, he simply watches it happen, numb to all the bad he sees in his work as a taxi driver. The film is about someone looking for a cause, and with that cause the promise of getting out of the mundane reality and finding that purpose that was so recently clear. To many, Robert DeNiro’s performance here is one of the greatest screen psychopath villains of all time. While great, to me he is no villain. In fact, I don’t find the character to be mentally ill at all. Yes, he is lost. Yes, his methods are wrong and his goals confused and absurd. But his intentions and his desires are good. Is it his fault he acts this way, or is he simply a product of a place and a time? This is what the film asks, and a subject I’ll leave you to debate yourself. This is a very centred film, DeNiro is entirely at the forefront and completely carries the film. He gives a shaded, genuine performance, to the point where we can debate where he sits on a morality scale, where a lesser actor may have only given enough to leave little doubt as to where the character is. Jodie Foster is amazing at such a young age, its very hard to believe she was just 13 at the time. She is confident and capable in the role, bring a maturity demanded of such a character. No review would be complete without mentioning the films climax. I wont spoil it, but only say it is one of the most shocking and brutal scene of all time, one that hits all who see it right in the gut. It is the ultimate result of “God’s lonely men” in a part of society where they have no power. An unflinching example of how violence, twisted morality and misdirection can eventually consume anyone in a bad situation.
Best moment: Travis prepares for a one man war, and in a prolonged sequence arms himself to the teeth while practicing his moves and his talk at home in the mirror. The most remembered scene of the film, and deservedly too.
To me, no film represents the 1970’s better than Scorsese’s ‘Taxi Driver’. For anyone who was an adult in 1960’s America, the 70’s were a pretty bad time. The war in Vietnam was ending, and the soldiers who weren’t scared for life were left directionless in a country where they were the enemy. For the hippies and protesters, there was nothing to fight against, and were feeling the hangover from a decade of physical and chemical abuse. The fact is, no matter where you sided politically, by 1975 a country was without purpose, without a cause, and simply tiered of the fight, but unable to break out of the war mindset. Travis Bickle, a war veteran himself, sums up a whole generation at the time. This is a man looking for a cause. An insomniac, a loner, someone at the very bottom of the rotting pile of sin that was New York City. He detests the scum of the streets, but like so many others is so jaded, he simply watches it happen, numb to all the bad he sees in his work as a taxi driver. The film is about someone looking for a cause, and with that cause the promise of getting out of the mundane reality and finding that purpose that was so recently clear. To many, Robert DeNiro’s performance here is one of the greatest screen psychopath villains of all time. While great, to me he is no villain. In fact, I don’t find the character to be mentally ill at all. Yes, he is lost. Yes, his methods are wrong and his goals confused and absurd. But his intentions and his desires are good. Is it his fault he acts this way, or is he simply a product of a place and a time? This is what the film asks, and a subject I’ll leave you to debate yourself. This is a very centred film, DeNiro is entirely at the forefront and completely carries the film. He gives a shaded, genuine performance, to the point where we can debate where he sits on a morality scale, where a lesser actor may have only given enough to leave little doubt as to where the character is. Jodie Foster is amazing at such a young age, its very hard to believe she was just 13 at the time. She is confident and capable in the role, bring a maturity demanded of such a character. No review would be complete without mentioning the films climax. I wont spoil it, but only say it is one of the most shocking and brutal scene of all time, one that hits all who see it right in the gut. It is the ultimate result of “God’s lonely men” in a part of society where they have no power. An unflinching example of how violence, twisted morality and misdirection can eventually consume anyone in a bad situation.
Best moment: Travis prepares for a one man war, and in a prolonged sequence arms himself to the teeth while practicing his moves and his talk at home in the mirror. The most remembered scene of the film, and deservedly too.
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