Taxi Driver was Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese’s first film together, and probably De Niro’s breakout performance. His presentation of the psychopathic cab driver Travis Bickle is one of the best performances I have seen, period. De Niro really demonstrated his ability to get inside a character’s head, and he plays Travis’ disgust with humanity and descent into obsession and mania with perfection.
Spoilers ahead, so beware: Taxi Driver is more of a character study than an actual movie, showing off the entire life, thought process, psyche, and nuances of the main character, Travis. Travis becomes a cab driver at the beginning of the movie, and after a brief infatuation with a woman working on a political campaign, devotes his entire life to rescuing a 12-year-old prostitute Iris (Jodie Foster). The movie is somewhat of a mind trip, especially the end sequence which (spoilers) may or may not take place in Travis’ head as he lies on a couch/hospital bed dying. (end spoilers) Regardless of whether or not Travis Bickle actually survives his attempt at rescuing Iris, DeNiro’s portrayal of one of cinema’s greatest anti-heroes, Scorsese’s excellent directorial style, and a plot that actually makes you think make this one of my favorite movies.
Score: 5/5 (A 5 is a movie I absolutely loved, would see again many times, and would recommend to absolutely everybody. I probably think it should be rated higher on the list than it currently is.)
