Taxi Driver (2007, DVD)

I watched Taxi Driver again last night. I think this was only my fourth viewing. I rented it so my girlfriend could see it. I was surprised that she never had. I think she was getting annoyed with me. I kept saying, This is good. Or, Watch this . The direction is amazing. Not to mention the acting. DeNiro is phenomenal.

In one scene, which I have always loved, although it is not one of the memorable scenes , DeNiro is on the phone trying to convince Betsy (Cybil Sheppard) to see him again after blowing his shot. The camera trucks off to the right away from him to show a long hallway and the city street beyond. I never got why Scorcese did this even though I liked it. As I was watching it last night I realized that the city outside of Travis world is just that outside. He has no place in it. He feels it, but doesn t understand it. He thinks it s everyone else. It s him. He has no clue how real people behave. He has no connection with them. You can see it throughout the film. People make comments to him and they fly right by. He doesn t know how to relate. I think that s what Scorcese was trying to show the world is outside of Travis. His life is insular, he lives in his own universe where culture and society are images that he sees but knows nothing about.

The reason he blew his one shot with Cybil, was that on their first date, he took her to an X rated movie. He simply did not know what else to do. He admits he knows nothing about music or movies and it s the truth. She refuses to see him again, and this becomes the catalyst for his psycosis. It is not the reason for it. Who can say what that is. It is not explored in the film, but it is the last straw in a hayloft of insecurity and isolation that pushes him over the edge.

Taxi Driver is a detailed look at what a sociopath sees and feels and how one acts. Obviously this does not describe all sociopaths, but this particular sociopath. He writes what he feels, long rants about his world and what is wrong with it. He practices his anger. Rehearses it. The famous scene in the mirror where he is confronting some imagined screwhead . You talking to me? Practicing the confrontation he wants to have happen, so he can show what he s made of, so he can do what he thinks needs to be done. This is the same kind of acting that a child plays at when he pretends to be a cowboy or a soldier. The deep, imaginative fantasy where all the injustices are encapsulated into an angry Bang, bang! You re dead!

Unable to truly commit the act he wanted to, he almost redeems himself in trying to help Iris (Jodie Foster) get out of her life as a prostitute. He goes about it in a completely unacceptable manner, however, becoming, in essence, the very thing he rails against, the type of individual that infects his world the scum and filth of the city.

Martin Scorcese and Robert DeNiro make this movie the truly great film it is. The supporting cast are all excellent. Harvey Keitel, Jodie Foster, Peter Boyle, Cybil Sheppard, Albert Brooks all give great performances, but the genius of DeNiro and Scorcese put this film over the top and settle it firmly in the realm of cinema classic.

As a side note,I saw this film on DVD and the extras that come with it are pretty good. The screenplay is included and there is a feature where you can read the screenplay and then switch to that scene in the movie and compare. There are also extensive subtitles in about 7 different languages as well as trailers and print collateral.