Review of Taxi Driver (1954) by David L — 09 Mar 2013

Not entirely sure what to make of this. In terms of action and entertainment, it was fairly slow paced until the final few scenes, but in terms of the message portrayed, it's a real thinking mans film as you go away asking yourself a lot of questions - my initial one was to ask 'what the hell was that all about'?! It follows a young man who is just looking to make ends meet by becoming a taxi driver on late night shifts given his insomnia.

Living in an area of squalor, witnessing child prostitution, visiting porn cinema's, and having been rejected by his potential girlfriend, Travis begins to suffer from aggressive states which make him endure on a series of physical training regimes, and then load himself full of weaponry.

With his mo-hawk haircut and looking more like one of the gangsters he now detests, he goes on a rampage in an attempt to rid the area of those he holds responsible for its demise. Firstly, his assassination attempt on the presidential candidate fails, but he subsequently succeeds in attacking the pimps that are running the chid prostitution ring, which for a 70's film, has quite a gory and graphic sequence.

It's a psychological thriller in the way we follow the lead characters emotions but we're left pondering whether it was right that he ultimately was labelled a hero for his sadistic actions, given his attack on the presidency was perhaps unwarranted.

Upon reflection, I'm glad I've seen this 'classic' as even in today's society it provides something unique and fresh within its storyline, but if it's full throttled action you want, you won't find it here! This is all about the life inside a single mans mind and how that reacts to his current surroundings.

It certainly wasn't mind-blowing for me, but I can fully appreciate what a controversial impact it would have had in the 70's, which is no doubt still part of its appeal in today's day an age.