Sunday Movies: Taxi Driver
This first review of mine will be on a classic. To preface this, I’ve always had this career fantasy of being a movie critic, because we all know how much I fancy them ol’ movies. I’ve seen hundreds of movies in my lifetime so far, and rewatch my favorites an unhealthy amount of times. To add to the list of constant rewatches, I’ll have to add this week’s movie: Taxi Driver by Martin Scorsese. I’m currently listening to Going to California by Zeppelin so excuse me if I become a little too over philosophical in this review.
To summarize, this film centers on Travis Brickle, ex marine corps, played by Robert DeNiro, a thespian genius. He’s fed up and beaten down by New York City life. Not only does he swing and miss with the ladies, one in particular that cuts him a little deeper than the rest, but he also cannot sleep at all. This was very relatable for me considering that I’ve struggled with insomnia for a while now, and let me tell you, it can bring the most sane down to the feet of irrationality. He is constantly cognisant of his inner thoughts and with them 24/7, never catching a break. This commences his descent into madness as he starts to plan an assasination of a senator running for president. From the porn theaters to his late night shifts of being a cab driver, this man has seen it all. It all haunts him, bringing him down. New York City night life is shady enough - vulgar clients and messy, erratic people - add heartbreak and the shattering feeling of constant loneliness and you’ve got yourself a mad man. However, despite his obvious aggression and irritability, this character is most definitely complex and layered.
We see Travis’ soft spots, and his hope for humanity as he tries to save a young girl (12 or so) from city prosititution life. Upon his first meeting of Iris (played by Jodi Foster) Travis was fixated. Maybe he saw a slither of redemption in her youth, as a way of vicariously saving his past self, rectifying his own personal injustices he went through; giving her a new chance.
I won’t spoil too much by diving further into detail. Instead, I’ll say that this film was splendid journey to experience. I enjoyed the intimacy we share with Travis as we accompany him into his insanity. We have the privilege of seeing a man losing his grip on sanity; progressively hearing his thoughts, seeing his actions make less and less sense as he literally trains and preps himself to go further into the rabbit hole. The movie is narratively framed in a way that it feels slow at first - all we see is Travis’ day to day life and all the nut jobs he meets being a taxi driver, the repetition of his lifestyle and its stagnation - then it picks up pace, paralleling with Travis’ fast descent into madness. The craziness seems to flood in, ending in an over-the-top, violent, extravaganza. The lighting is also splendidly executed throughout the film. At night, when the darker thoughts and questionable night life comes out, Travis seems to be consumed by it. This is represented physically by the lack of illumination in these scenes. However, the city and street lights contrast this darkness. They pierce through the cab and illuminate Travis every now and then on his runs. For me, this acted as symbolism as Travis still holds hope for the world. The light and dark symbolism continues. For example, Travis even says at one point that his love interest, wearing all white, when he saw her, “...appeared like an angel. Out of this filthy mess, she is alone.” she represents the lightness in the “filthy” darkness that surrounds him. The dialogue is simple too. Travis shares few words with the people around him at first, however he shares much more with only himself in his head and more as he becomes crazier. The back and forth of slow motion and actual pace in the violent scenes during the eruption of the climax in the film was the ultimate symbolism of Travis’ inner workings and thoughts. It all seems so surreal and fantasy-like. He digests things in a different way, processing them in a manner we, a sane person, cannot comprehend. Nothing seems to phase him in these instances, as he is fixated on the goals he’s set out to bring to fruition.
Overall, the film is another job well done by Scorsese. I’m happy I finally got around to watching it, and I recommend to anyone who’s into some classic on screen craziness, a must watch for film enthusiasts.
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