Review of Taxi Driver (1954) by Four Star F — 05 Feb 2013

You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me? Then who the hell else are you talking... you talking to me? Well I'm the only one here.

Taxi Driver is a film rich in psychological and voyeuristic cinema. Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) is 'God's Lonely Man' he drives taxis at night because he can't sleep, he feels the streets are full scum and someone needs to wipe away the filth. Taxi Driver is the definition of an anti-hero, his philosophy on life is spectacular but at the same time his mental state is one which does not seem stable.

The cinematography is a realistic and well put together depiction of New York. The subjective point of view from Travis is the world from his point of view, the poetic voice-over telling us his every thought, it allows the audience to connect to Travis' isolation and loneliness.

Travis is a Vietnam war veteran who becomes mentally unstable his primary goal is to save just one person from this mess of a place, he trys to fall in love but is unable because he doesn't love himself, he then finds a salvation in a young Prostitute named Iris (Jodie Foster), he wants to save her from the Pimps which he calls 'the lowest' and succeeds, whether he feels he has succeeded or not we don't know as the film ends but we know he survives the Pimp killing scene the climax as it was.

To conclude Taxi Driver is another Scorsese film which dosen't appeal for everybody but a majority of people at one time or another will feel the thoughts he has and will live long in film history, not only for the ground breaking performance from De Niro but also the Sublime directing from Scorsese and the Creative script from Shrader but as a whole including a memorable score and distinct visuals, this film is a masterpiece.