Review of Taxi Driver (1976) by Bethany B — 18 Nov 2012

A masterstroke by the great Martin Scorsese concerning a recently returned Vietnam War veteran (Robert De Niro) who picks up a job in New York City as a taxi driver, and how a young campaign worker (Cybill Shepherd) catches his eye, before the relationship sours and he begins to slowly drift into insanity.

Another classic that, after re-watching a few years later, has opened my eyes to more things that make this movie truly a work of art. Each scene, character, and action in the movie serves a purpose, with a script that offers multiple interpretations as to what it all could mean (especially its conclusion).

Robert De Niro's legendary, terrifying turn is one of the best performances of all-time, and the slow-burn method of showing his characters insanity isn't aiming for shock, moreso a steady pattern of decline into madness that is frighteningly realistic as much as it is disturbing.

I did not like this movie upon first seeing it, but now I think it is one of the best films of all-time that anyone who claims to love movies must see.