God's Lonely Man
Is this a dagger I
see before me,
The handle toward
my hand?...
Macbeth
Wm.
Shakespeare
An absorbing and challenging film, Taxi Driver is a landmark in cinema of
the 1970's. The film, a powerful essay
on male alienation and aggression in modern America, is unlike anything that
came before it. The intense screenplay
by Paul Schrader coupled with self-assured direction of Martin Scorsese and depth
provided by Robert De Niro's acting place this film among the masterworks of
modern cinema. It is one of those rare
films where the right combination of talent came together at exactly the right
time and ignited.
The 1970's saw a renaissance in the film industry as a
younger generation of filmmakers took up the sagging reins of American
cinema. Wunderkind directors such as
George Lucas and Steven Spielberg pushed the envelope of genre films to
exciting new realms. Other directors
such as Francis Ford Coppola, Terrance Malik, Arthur Penn, Paul Schrader and
Martin Scorsese directly challenged established filmmaking conventions. It is during this revolutionary time in
American cinema that Taxi Driver came
to be made. With the benefit of
hindsight, one could rightfully claim that this is perhaps the only time in the
history of American film that a movie like Taxi
Driver could have ever been made at all.
The plot of Taxi Driver revolves around Travis Bickle (De Niro), a lonely,
young Vietnam veteran. Through Travis'
eyes we see the world of New York, circa 1975.
Travis' world is the under-belly of society. "All the animals come out at night. Whores, scum, pussies, buggers, queens,
fairies, dopers, junkies... sick... venal.
Someday a real rain will come and wash all the scum off the
streets." These lines near the
beginning of the film give us an immediate insight into his thoughts and
motivations. What Travis never realizes
though, is that he is an integral part of everything he observes and despises.
In the opening of the picture, we
see Travis emerging from a cloud of smoke to enter the cabstand. There he applies for the graveyard shift, because,
he says, he can't sleep at night. The
taxi becomes a symbol of the character's isolation. He drives the city streets insulated in his metal cocoon.
His life becomes a routine of driving all night and
frequenting porno theaters during the day.
In the middle of this routine, Travis becomes fixated on a beautiful,
young, upper-middle class, campaign worker named Betsy (Cybill Shepherd). Finally gaining the courage to ask her out
on a date, he takes her to the porn theater because this is all he knows. Betsy walks out on him, disgusted, and
refuses his flowers and phone calls.
While Travis is trying to figure out Betsy's rejection of him, he meets
and befriends, Iris (Jodie Foster), a twelve-year-old prostitute, who becomes a
strange surrogate for Betsy.
As Travis starts sinking into his
sociopathic madness, he purchases a small arsenal of handguns and starts to
practice with them in front of the mirror.
He begins preparing his body and mind for what he feels is his divine
mission in life; he will assassinate Senator Pallantine, the candidate Betsy
works for. His attempt is thwarted by
the Secret Service, who catch on to his suspicious behavior. He escapes, and instead of killing the
Senator, he goes to the dingy hotel Iris works out of and murders her pimp,
along with everyone else in his way.
The media, aware only that he "saved" Iris, turns him into a
hero.
In the film Travis is always shown
as an observer and doesn't become a participant until the final, violent
climax. He is never able to make any
real human connection. His associates
at the cabstand are not friends, even though he occasionally sits in on their
conversations and tries to fit in. His
attempts to relate to Betsy are completely misguided. In fact, the only one he
really relates to is Iris, the twelve-year-old hooker that he becomes fixated
on and eventually incorporates into his death fantasy.
The screenwriter, Paul Schrader,
exposes the character of Travis through a mixture of dialog, situation and
environment. From the initial moment
the audience sees Travis, they are given clues and insights into his psychotic
personality. The strongest clues to
Travis' true character come from a voice-over that narrates his thoughts and
diary entries. These revelations become
more unsettling as the audience realizes just how dangerous he really is. The voice-over disappears in the final act
as Travis sets out on his mission, adding to the film's sense of realism. The overall effect pulls the viewer into
Travis' world; they feel as though they really know Travis, how he lives and
how he thinks.
The dramatic structure of the film is
hard to pin down. In some ways it
conventional, the film progresses from point “A” to point “B.” In other ways though is unconventional, in
that we do not necessarily know where point B is going to lead. As in life, we do not always know what to
expect next in this film. The film
starts slowly and gradually builds to an orgasmic climax of bloodshed and
violence. According to Schrader, he
wrote the entire screenplay in just ten days after suffering through an ordeal
of pain, loneliness and near psychosis.
These emotions reverberate throughout the piece.
The acting in Taxi Driver is some of the most realistic in modern film. Robert De Niro's characterization is
completely convincing. You can see the
tension in his eyes and his body language tightening as he begins to break
down. His performance at once elicits
sympathy from the audience while frightening them at the same time.
The supporting actors are equally noteworthy. As Iris, Jodie Foster's performance is a
mixture of worldliness and naivete that won her an Academy Award for best
supporting actress. Harvey Keitel is also convincing as Sport, Iris' pimp. Peter Boyle, Albert Brooks and Cybill
Shepherd all do wonderfully in smaller character roles as well.
The direction by Martin Scorsese is masterful. Scorsese's style of directing is perfectly
suited to Schrader's screenplay and De Niro's acting. He borrows from other directors, such as Sam Peckinpah and Samuel
Fuller, and melds it into his own with this film. He constantly, but unobtrusively, uses devices of the cinema to
emphasize Travis's life as the ultimate outsider. Scorsese's camera underlines the anxiety and isolation by keeping
the character alone in the frame most of the time, even when he is trying to
relate to others. In one scene we see
Travis walking down a crowded New York street and only his face is in focus; he
is just another face in the crowd.
Scorsese also uses mirrors in his shots to further
symbolize the central character’s isolation from the real world. Travis observes his passengers through the
mirror in the cab. He practices with
his guns in front of the mirror in his apartment. In the last shot of the film, we see Travis' eyes reflected in
the cab's rear-view mirror and a look that tells us he will snap again.
To call this film an auteur piece
would be a disservice to the contributions of Paul Schrader, Robert De Niro and
Cinematographer Michael Chapman.
Although he is know for carefully overseeing all aspects of production, as
any good director should, Martin Scorsese is not necessarily an autuerist
director. Although there are many
trademarks that make a Scorsese picture unique, his films also rely on strong
collaborations with his scenarists, cinematographers and actors.
Taxi
Driver definitely bears the stamp of Scorsese's unique filmmaking
signature. The New York setting of the
film puts Scorsese on his home turf.
The New York City in his films is not a location so much as it is another
character. Scorsese's New York pulsates
and breathes in his films. As shown in Mean Streets, Raging Bull and Goodfellas, no one knows better how to
map on film the physical and psychological terrain of New York City and its
denizens.
Another similarity that Taxi Driver shares with Martin
Scorsese's other works is its exploration of male aggression and violence. Often criticized for his films being too
violent, Scorsese presents frank examinations of the brutality in men. Travis Bickle's bloodbath in Taxi Driver is not so distanced from
Jake La Mota's punishing his contenders in the ring in Raging Bull or Tommy, Henry and Jimmy taking care of business in Goodfellas. Scorsese doesn't try to provide any excuses for these men's
actions, he is more concerned with what drives them.
Also exceptional, the editing by Marsha Lucas dictates the
pace of the movie while staying unobtrusive.
The film begins with a slow pace, showing us the dull routine of
Travis's life. The editing then becomes
tighter and faster paced as the film progresses along with Travis'
madness. In the epilogue though, the
filmmakers revert back to the slow pacing, suggesting the original routine.
Technically, the film is a marvel of perfection. Every nuance of lighting, sound effects and music score is perfectly matched to the drama and add to the movie's realistic feel. The Michael Chapman's lighting design dictates the emotion of the scenes while also representing the locale where the action takes place. From the brightly lit campaign office, to the neon glow of Forty-second street, to the dim gloom of the hotel in the finale, the lighting always keeps the film grounded in realism.
Sound is also used as a device to
help shape the film's reality. It is asynchronous at certain times,
subliminally influencing our perception of the scene. In one instance, we see
Travis purchasing guns in an apartment while the sounds of children playing
outside are heard. In another example,
we see Iris dancing sweetly with Sport, her pimp, and then we hear the sound of
gunshots a few seconds before the scene cuts to show Travis practicing at a
shooting range, foreshadowing the events to come.
Bernard Herrman's unconventional
score manipulates the audience as well.
The music starts out slow and jazzy, building with the tension of the
film. The absence of the score in the climax
gives it an edgier feel; it doesn't return until the bloodshed is over and the
final impact begins to take hold of the viewer. Mr. Herrmann was best known for his work with Alfred Hitchcock
and Taxi Driver was his last film
score (the film, in fact, is dedicated to his memory).
Taxi
Driver is a great film because it challenges it's audience with some
difficult questions and observations. A
normal face in the crowd can be capable of incomprehensible violence. What does it matter whether such a person
assassinates a presidential candidate or guns down a pimp? To Travis, isolated from the real world, it
was all the same. Perhaps we will stop
and think the next time we hear about someone the media has bequeathed the
title of "hero."
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