Favorite Film Review: Taxi Driver Starring Robert De Niro

When American filmgoers are asked to name their favorite actor, there are several names that tend to come up over and over. One of those names is Robert De Niro, famous for his roles in such films as Taxi Driver and The Deer Hunter.

Taxi Driver, released in 1976, was one of the films that established De Niro as a major actor, and strengthened his professional relationship with director Martin Scorsese. The film also featured one of the first major roles for Jodi Foster, who plays a teenage prostitute named Iris.

Synopsis

Taxi Driver's story concerns a mentally ill Vietnam veteran named Travis Bickle (De Niro), who takes a job driving a cab in New York City, primarily because of his insomnia. When not working, he spends days in porn theaters or hanging around his sordid apartment. Much of his inner thoughts and feelings are revealed through De Niro's voice overs, in which he illustrates his hatred for the "scum" and "filth" that he perceives as tainting the city.

At one point, Bickle encounters a woman named Betsy (Cybill Shepherd), a campaign worker for Senator Charles Palantine (Leonard Harris), who is running for president. Bickle thinks that she is the most beautiful woman he has ever seen (and tells her so); he eventually goes so far as to volunteer for Palantine's campaign.

Though he is turned down, he gets a date with Betsy, and the two meet for coffee and dessert at a local restaurant. Betsy, interestingly, compares Bickle to a character in Kris Kristofferson's song "Pilgrim, Chapter 33" ("See him wasted on the sidewalk in his jacket and jeans/Wearin' yesterday's misfortunes like a smile").

Bickle, however, later reveals that he is clueless as to how to treat a lady when he takes Betsy to a porn flick (apparently the only sort of movie he knows). His further attempts to see Betsy are fruitless, and her rejection of him contributes to his idea that the world is corrupt and revolting.

Bickle's thoughts then begin to turn toward violence, as he purchases an arsenal of weapons from a sleazy dealer named Easy Andy (Steven Prince). In his apartment, he begins rehearsing his revenge on the "filth" he sees corrupting the city. The film's most famous scene takes place at this point, in which Travis poses in front of a mirror with his guns, saying "You talkin' to me? Well, who the hell else are you talkin' to? You talkin' to me?" Of note: the dialogue in this scene was entirely improvised by De Niro, according to Ultraviolent Movies: From Sam Peckinpah to Quentin Tarantino.

Eventually, one night while driving, a child prostitute named Iris (Jodie Foster) gets into Bickle's cab, attempting to escape from her abusive pimp, Sport (Harvey Keitel). Sport catches up with Iris, however, and drags her from the taxi; as compensation, he gives Travis a 20-dollar bill, which haunts him as a symbol of his failure in rescuing Iris.

Later, Travis visits the brothel in which Iris works, posing as a customer. Her pays her timekeeper for an alleged sexual encounter, but refuses to actually sleep with Iris. Instead, he tries to convince her to leave the prostitution life.

Finally, Travis loses his last grip on sanity; he shaves his hair into a Mohawk, arms himself with an arsenal of weapons, and attempts to assassinate Senator Palantine at one of his rallies. He is spotted by Secret Service members before he can reach the Senator, and as a result, goes on a crazed shooting spree.

In the bloodbath that follows, he murders Sport, the old man working with him, and a mobster who is sleeping with Iris. Travis, too, is seriously wounded in the gun battle; he attempts to shoot himself, but has run out of bullets. The cops then walk in and discover the slaughter.

Critique

Taxi Driver, as a whole, is a character study of a highly disturbed man. There are many questions left unanswered about him. At one point, as Travis is working out in his apartment, we notice a large, ugly scar on his back. Did this injury come from Vietnam? The audience can only guess. Also, unlike some earlier 20th century films, Taxi Driver does not attempt to explain Travis' mental illness as something that can be categorized (e.g. schizophrenia); instead, the film helps us to identify with him.

In some ways, there is a bit of Travis Bickle in everyone. Haven't most of us felt lonely at one point or another? Haven't we all encountered someone upon which we wished to take violent revenge? The difference, with Travis, is that he acts out his violent fantasies. He seems to be completely unable to relate to others; he has no real friends, nor romantic relationships. Were you to read the profiles of some famous serial killers, such as David Berkowitz and John Wayne Gacy, you may find Bickle's actions eerily similar.

Robert De Niro studied mental illness to prepare for his role as Travis, as well as driving a cab on 12-hour shifts for a month before shooting the film. Although most moviegoers know De Niro quite well today, at the time he was still building a reputation. His dedication to the role is obvious onscreen.

Harvey Keitel, who plays Sport, talked to actual pimps to get a feel for his character and improve his authenticity. Paul Schrader, who wrote the brilliant screenplay, did similar street research. The result is a very seedy, gloomy representation of New York City (accurate to the '70s, in which violent crime rates were much higher than they are now, according to DisasterCenter.com).

Jodi Foster also puts in a highly memorable performance as Iris, whose character is meant to be 12 1/2 years old. Foster was only 13 at the time of the filming, so she was unable to shoot some of the more explicit scenes featuring her character, according to The Internet Movie Database. Her sister, Connie Foster, was 20 years old at the time, and was cast as her body double.

Director Scorsese, too, appears in a disturbing cameo as an enraged husband who happens to be one of Travis' passengers. In this scene, he describes in gory detail how he plans to murder his wife. Interestingly, in the first half of the film, most of the violence takes place in the dialogue, and works on a psychological level. Later, however, as Travis turns violent, the carnage is graphically shown onscreen.

By today's standards, the violence in Taxi Driver may seem tame. That being said, it still has the power to affect viewers with its tension, atmosphere, and bloodshed. Martin Scorsese, perhaps, began to establish a reputation as an ultra-violent filmmaker with Taxi Driver, which he continues to uphold even today.

If you haven't yet seen this film, definitely add it to your list. It may disturb you; then again, perhaps that's the point.

References:

Internet Movie Database: Taxi Driver (1976)

Bouzereau, Laurent. (1996). Ultraviolent Movies: From Sam Peckinpah to Quentin Tarantino. Yucca Valley, CA: Citadel Publishing.

Disaster Center: New York Crime Rates 1960-2007