TAXI DRIVER

BY CHRISTOPHER HASKELL
NOVEMBER 25, 2010

Robert De Niro warrants respect. Most critics revere the man. That sort of admiration is earned, not by luck, but with hard work and ventures with great directors such as Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese, both of which tend to draw the best out of De Niro. There is an aura about De Niro that makes him approachable, more so as a young actor than the distinguished mentor he has become today. His smile reveals an off-kilter dimension, creating a true star and not just another cookie-cutter protagonist. Mention De Niro, and if “The Godfather Part II” or “Goodfellas” are not the first films mentioned, “Taxi Driver” will be one of the following most proclaimed films in his repertoire.

Who knows the streets of New York City better than Martin Scorsese? View even a handful of Scorsese’s films; anyone can tell that Scorsese knows what he is portraying. Immersing his characters in these realistic and decadent worlds brings to light Scorsese’s true art with the film medium. Earlier this year, I saw “Mean Streets,” which was one of the duo’s first pairings. The dynamic that the loose cannon De Niro added to the film made it one of Scorsese’s most memorable films. “Taxi Driver” is another one of those films, and with De Niro at the helm, there is no doubt this could be their best endeavor.

One must be curious about what makes “Taxi Driver” a favorite De Niro film. Perhaps this shifts with passing generations, yet Travis Bickle (De Niro) is an iconic character that stands for something. He is lonely, misguided, wholly devoted, and easily distracted, allowing audiences to latch on to him. Bickle reaches curiously into the world surrounding him yet stays somehow secluded in his mind, lonely but open to life. He represents freedom in almost a Che-like uniform and heavy metal mohawk. By the film’s end, his freeing of a young prostitute (Jodie Foster) even drives that anarchist/revolutionist even more so.

No matter what your favorite Robert De Niro or Martin Scorsese is, “Taxi Driver” continues to fill film conversations to this day, remaining relevant while solidifying its place as a classic.