Taxi Driver and Robert DeNiro Make Great Cinematic History

Taxi Driver, which premiered in 1976, was written by, Paul Schrader and directed by Martin Scorsese. The movie featured an all-star cast, Robert DeNiro, Jody Foster, Harvey Keitel, and Cybill Shepherd. The film is in the mold of the old film noir movies, with a touch of western genre. Taxi Driver is most definitely dark and depressing, and its lead character, Travis, possesses many of the characteristics of the western anti-heroes, that actors such as Clint Eastwood have played.

In ACT I, we learn Travis is an ex Marine who's fought in Vietnam. This is all we find out about his military days, but the viewer can surmise that many of his actions are a result of his experience in the war. He can't sleep, he self medicates with pills and alcohol, and frequents X-Rated movies. The city and the people disgust him, yet he embodies much of what he hates in others.

Amongst the filth in the city, a beacon of hope emerges, Betsy. The first time Travis sees her, Betsy is dressed appropriately in white, representing what he sees as pure and good in the world. Surprisingly, Travis is a good talker and convinces Betsy to have pie and coffee with him. He doesn't ask her out for drinks or dinner, just a sweet innocent coffee and pie. After a little persuading, Betsy agrees to go out with Travis to see a movie. On the surface, Betsy looks out of Travis's league, but Travis has a certain charm.

In one of many examples of Travis's conflicting behavior, he takes the pure woman that "the dirty city couldn't touch", to an X-rated movie. In a painful scene, he's surprised when Betsy walks out. The relationship is over, and so is any hope Travis had of finding someone to end his loneliness.

Even though Travis is an anti-hero, the writer does an excellent job of giving him some likeable qualities. The fact that he's so lonely, makes him sympathetic. You also admire him for making an effort to stop his pending downward spiral.

Travis goes to Wizard, a fellow taxi driver, for guidance. Unfortunately, Wizard can't help. With no real friends, Travis again feels alone. His frustration grows as he begins to plan the assassination of Senator Palantine. We never learn why Travis wanted to kill a man who was nice in their brief encounter. Was this an attempt to get back at Betsy, or did Travis hate what Palantine stood for, "we the people?" Palantine wanted to unify people, and Travis always felt like an outsider. Travis was, "God's lonely man."

In Act II, Travis becomes resigned to the fact that there is no one good in the world, and he starts out on his self-destructive path. Travis can feel he's descending into a bad place that he will probably not emerge. He accepts what he feels is his fate, to live and die alone. In his letter to Iris, he writes, "This money should be enough for your trip. By the time you read this I will be dead." It's apparent his plan was to assassinate Palantine, and he figured he would be killed in the process.

The Act III resolution begins when Travis goes to see Iris and her pimp, Sport. He kills Sport, a man who represents all that disgusts him in the world, and continues shooting men, even when Iris begs him not to. At this point, Travis wants to kill every scum that comes in his path. He is cleaning up the city. He tries to shot himself when the police come, but his gun is apparently out of bullets. In a reversal, the anti-hero becomes a hero, after "rescuing" Iris. In the end, Travis goes back to driving his taxi, unwilling to embrace his new public image.

In the final scene, Betsy gets in Travis's cab. Travis is aloof as they talk about Palantine, and the shooting. Betsy attempts to pay, but he refuses to accept any money and merely drives away. Travis is a vulnerable, relatable character. His needs are simple, he doesn't want to feel alone and he wants the rid the world of the scum that inhabit it. The problem with Travis is his extremist behavior in dealing with feelings, that we all experience. We are all looking for companionship in the world, and we took the journey with Travis with hope that in the end, he would find what he was looking for.

Taxi Driver, is a powerful, thought provoking movie with great acting, directing and writing. The film is remembered for many things, including the famous line ad-libbed by DeNiro, "You talking to me, you talking to me?" The movie, and that line, created great cinematic history.

Sources:

https://www.msu.edu/user/svoboda1/taxi_driver/info.html
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075314/