Review: Taxi Driver (1976)

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Taxi Driver

Rating

Director

Martin Scorsese

Screenplay

Paul Schrader

Length

1h 54m

Starring

Robert De Niro, Jodei Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Albert Brooks, Leonard Harris, Peter Boyle, Steven Prince, Martin Scorsese, Harry Northrup, Victor Argo, Joe Spinell

MPAA Rating

Basic Plot

An insomniac drives a cab by night and falls in love.

Review

Would-be assassin John Hinckley, Jr. in an attempt to kill President Ronald Reagan claimed he was influenced by “Taxi Driver” and trying to impress Jodie Foster.

“Taxi Driver” opens on Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro), a Vietnam War veteran, who, unable to sleep, takes on a job as a Taxi Driver in New York City.

He first encounters a campaign worker named Betsy (Cybill Shepherd) who he falls in love with and takes out on a date. Inexperienced in dating, he inadvertently takes her to a porn film where he’s used to passing the afternoon. She leaves disgusted wanting nothing more to do with him.

De Niro decides at one point that he wants to assassinate the political candidate, Palatine, that Betsy is representing. He shaves his head into a Mohawk to symbolize his foreknowledge that doing this will get him killed.

He then sees a young woman (Jodie Foster) hustling on the streets and follows her on several occasions. When he finally gets up the courage, he wants to hire her for her services. She tells him to contact her pimp, Sport (Harvey Keitel), who takes his money and Travis takes the girl up to a special apartment where they can be alone.

We learn that her name is Iris and that she has run away from home. She finds it rather bizarre that this man should be trying to rescue her from her surroundings and seems astonished that she’s doing anything wrong. He gives her a large amount of money in hopes that she will leave the business and go home or somewhere else.

De Niro is powerful in his role and Foster glows with talent at such a young age. Keitel brings yet another career bad guy onto the screen and Shepherd is surprisingly luminous.

While Foster lost the Oscar the Supporting Actress Oscar, it almost seems a shame considering her immense talent in the film. She’s young, yet easily portrays a street-wise attitude.

“Taxi Driver” is a terrific film from the director of recent films like “GoodFellas” and “The Age of Innocence.” It captures a tumultuous time in American history after the Vietnam War. It’s unabashed view of the time period is well in-line with Scorsese’s other visions.