Saturday, July 08, 2006

TAXI DRIVER


In Martin Scorsese’s searing, absolutely brilliant Taxi Driver we get to watch as our misanthropic anti-hero slowly loses his mind. Before it’s over he’s become a delusional psychopath—which makes him fit in perfectly with the denizens of a 70’s-era New York City crumbling under the weight of its own moral decay—and a local hero. This is one of only a few post-noir noir movies to get it right. Robert De Niro’s icon status began to develop with this film. Scorsese forged his legend on movies that came after Taxi Driver. But even if he had stopped after this one, Scorsese would still be one of the best directors ever. This movie is haunting and unforgettable—a perfect film. Kudos to an at-the-time-mentally-unstable Paul Schrader for the incredible screenplay, and Michael Chapman for the gritty cinematography. Bernard Herrmann’s jazzy score provides the perfect punctuation.