Taxi Driver | Film Review

Hey Guys x

I said in another post that I was going to be writing reviews of older movies, and as this one had been on my 'to watch' list for such a long time, I thought it would be a great one to review! Plus there are some great connections between this and 'Joker', which I've already reviewed.

Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) is a man suffering from insomnia. When he gets a job as a taxi driver, we see his gradual descent into obsession, as he dreams of cleaning up the dirty streets of New York City.

I loved this movie, for so many reasons. Mainly because it's just an example of the classic movie-making that films nowadays try and fail to replicate.

It feels like the writer just thought 'let's write the way people actually speak', and it was really successful because there wasn't a sentence that felt out of place or unrealistic.

Another thing that the film does successfully is the use of voiceover. Whether we like it or not, we're in this man's head. Because of this, the film becomes a really insightful look at an unreliable narrator, as we realise that we never knew who Travis really was in the first place.

While we already know that both the acting and direction of this movie are going to be amazing, for me the standout actor has to be Jodie Foster, who was just 12 at the time of filming, the same age as her character. She did an amazing job with a role that probably wasn't easy to play for anyone, let alone someone so young who might not have made many movies before that.

One of the things I liked most was the approach to violence in this movie, particularly in the end scene. It's so old-fashioned that it becomes refreshing. Unlike a lot of movies and directors making movies nowadays, Scorsese wasn't afraid to make a mess.

You don't know how to frame Travis throughout the movie. Is he the hero or the villain of this story? Does it matter?
No matter how you think of him, he begins the film as a really endearing character, and for the most part he does stay that way as the film continues, even when it becomes clear that he isn't of sound mind.

Not everything is explained, and that works really well for a film like this. The things left open and ambiguous are perfectly handled.

Overall, this is an movie that everyone should see, particularly anyone who's a fan of classic movies, because this is one of the better ones!

8.5/10

Lou