Classic Review #45: Taxi Driver
Taxi Driver was such an important film to me during my formative years that I’ve never found the courage to write about it critically, presumably out of fear that my words will fail to do Martin Scorsese’s 1978 masterpiece justice. However, it’s been a few years since I last watched the film, and it would seem the passing of time has allayed that trepidation and, more interestingly, prompted me to re-evaluate my position on it.
I could never quite understand what it was about Paul Schrader’s screenplay, and in particular the character of Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro), that I found alluring. On face value, the profound loneliness of the protagonist is probably what I found relatable, especially during my teenage years. However, the sinister path that Bickle’s isolation leads him down is thankfully not a trajectory I could ever empathise with and is something that, when considered in the context of Western society’s burgeoning incel problem, is actually one of many problematic themes within this picture.
Viewers that are familiar with Schrader’s other work (both as a writer and director) will be aware of his penchant for bleak, overtly masculine stories, but Taxi Driver remains an especially discomforting watch. This is not only because of Bickle’s slow-burning psychological degradation (resulting in the film’s violent crescendo) but also the depiction of the film’s black and female characters which, although most likely true to its time, makes for an unsettling case study in othering which does not always feel entirely necessary.
Nonetheless, it’s impossible to contest the notion that, with the exception of Raging Bull, Taxi Driver remains the apex of De Niro and Scorsese’s fabled partnership, with both at the peak of their powers. Considering that the picture was shot on a meagre budget of $1.9m, this could be considered the greatest creative triumph of the latter’s storied career, while the performance of the former certainly ranks as one of his finest. Accompanied by a fittingly bipolar score from the late Bernard Hermann, De Niro and Scorsese deliver one of the most insularly gripping thrillers in cinematic history, one that perfectly encapsulates the perils of living with untreated trauma.
While I can’t honestly say that my love for Taxi Driver is as fierce as it once was, it’s an undeniable triumph for all involved that remains as unsettling today as it ever was.
