What Taxi Driver Means to Us
–King Alvarez
Taxi Driver isn’t just about a man driving a cab in the dim, grimy streets of New York City; it’s about the struggle to find meaning in a world that seems indifferent, even hostile. Travis Bickle, a Vietnam vet drifting through a life without structure or purpose, takes a job as a cab driver, operating through the insomniac hours of a city he’s come to both resent and obsess over. As he steers through the squalor of the night streets, we hear his voice in dark monologues, reflections that mix a desire for justice with a troubling undercurrent of violence. We learn not just about his disgust with the “scum” and “filth” around him but about a deep, churning sense of isolation that seems to harden into something dangerous.
Scorsese captures New York in a style that’s almost expressionistic, using shadows and neon to reflect the moral grime on the streets and within Travis. These are streets of steam and neon, with lights that cast Travis’s face in garish reds and greens, as if he’s already somewhere infernal. Bernard Herrmann’s score—a mix of saxophone noir and the ominous rumbling of strings—provides an auditory landscape of its own, heightening the dread but also the strange allure of this world.
In its time, Taxi Driver was controversial, especially in the moral ambiguity surrounding its climax. Travis, by the film’s end, becomes a vigilante, taking the kind of violent action he believes will clean up the world around him, rescuing the young Iris (Jodie Foster) from her life as a child prostitute. It’s a complicated portrayal of a damaged man told in a way only a master could.
–Sailor Monsoon
You Talking to Me?
Above all else, the definitive quality of Taxi Driver is the magnificent, and borderline career defining, performance of the one and only Robert De Niro. Although De Niro would go on to immortalize countless other characters (particularly in follow up collaborations with Martin Scorsese), his turn in this film is among some of the best acting work we’ve ever seen.
The character of Travis Bickle, even though written by Paul Schrader and directed by Martin Scorsese, would not exist for all time if not for the work of De Niro. As a student of the method school of acting, De Niro is able to fully embody the character of Travis.
Every gesture and inflection made by De Niro in this film is fully true to the Bickle character. You can feel that De Niro has tapped into the complete psyche of the character. The brilliance of the performance cannot be understated.
In what is probably the most famous line read in the film – and maybe of all time – Travis is playing out make-believe scenarios of violent encounters in his apartment (as one does), and at one point mischievously looks in the mirror and asks, “are you talking to me?” He’s clearly pleased with himself in how he handles the made-up scenario.
However, the one who should really be pleased with himself is Robert De Niro, who famously ad-libbed that line and mini monologue. The cue in the script famously just read “Travis talks to himself in the mirror.” DeNiro took it and ran. He turned it into a moment that exists beyond the scope of the movie. Quote it to anyone in your life, movie fan or not, and they immediately know what you’re talking about.
That famous scene is just one of the many great examples of Robert De Niro’s outstanding performance. It’s criminal he didn’t win Best Actor at the Academy Awards that year, even though Peter Finch was also incredible in his award-winning performance in Network.
Beyond the world class ad-libbing and fully immersive psychological performing is the incredible physical transformation of De Niro’s body. Every aspect of his performance is top tier and should forever be celebrated as such.
The Cure for Male Loneliness
One of the major themes of Taxi Driver is exploring the root causes and real-world effects of male loneliness. When we first meet Travis, he’s an insomniac Vietnam War vet looking to ease, if not fully cure, his ailment. We quickly learn that insomnia is not the only thing that ails him.
His mental illness (as it would be broadly diagnosed in 2024) reveals itself bit by bit as the movie goes on. We remain unaware of the actual impetus of said illness. It could be PTSD from the War, it could be seeing the dark underbelly of New York City, or it could have been living deep inside before either of those other life experiences occurred. Heck, it could be some combination of the three.
Regardless of what the cause is, the film does a great job of exploring the ambiguity of how it festers and ultimately manifests. Travis’ descent into madness is a fascinating and texturally rich journey.
After unsuccessfully trying to court Betsy (played by a spectacular Cybill Shepherd), Travis begins to spiral further and further into his madness. The rejection from the pretty girl working in the campaign office of the presidential candidate, who for some reason is not thrilled by his date idea of going to the porno theater, drives Travis to ultimately act on his worst impulses.
The cure to male loneliness in Travis’ mind is to go out and rid the streets of New York City of the scum (as he would call them) who inhabit them.
New York City Scum
The backdrop of New York City has time and time again been a playground for Scorsese to explore various stories and aspects of life. Taxi Driver just may be the best example of that.
The New York City of the 70’s was not necessarily the exciting and glamorous place that we know it to be now. It was a much more treacherous and dangerous land. The New York City of Taxi Driver reflects that treachery and danger. Ironically, Travis thinks the only solution to cleaning up the streets is by becoming a violent vigilante.
Scorsese and cinematographer Michael Chapman, perfectly capture the grimy underworld of the city’s landscape. Shots of indifferent crowds of the city’s inhabitants and shots of the rain slicked pavement glistening with the lights that illuminate the night constantly remind viewers that this is an unforgiving city. Shots of Travis on empty streets highlight the feeling of alienation that life in the big city can inspire.
It’s that feeling of alienation that pushes Travis to his climactic showdown with the pimp character played by Harvey Keitel. Travis, in a mindset of misplaced self-importance is able to convince himself that killing Keitel’s Sport will set free the teenage prostitute Iris (Jodie Foster in a stellar cinematic debut) and cement himself has a local hero.
Whether he actually becomes a hero or not is up for debate. But the explosion of violence, and eerily hopeful ending is the perfect punctuation on this magnificent film.
Legacy
The legacy of Taxi Driver will always be a complicated one. Whether the wrong lessons are taken by would be presidential assassinators and the long line of copycat films that can’t hold a cinematic candle to this masterpiece. Or if it’s beautiful snapshot of a time, place, and societal mindset that is simultaneously a timeless text. Whether you admire its technical prowess or appreciate its role in solidifying Martin Scorsese and Robert DeNiro as titans of the game.
Before we wrap this up, it should also be noted that Bernard Herrmann’s score here is one of the most underrated in movie history. The mix of melancholy saxophone followed by ominous military drums is the perfect emotional summation of the entire film. Every time you hear it, it serves as a reminder of everything this film is about and just how great every element of it is.
Taxi Driver is undoubtedly a seminal film. One that will live on for all of time. Its impact is undeniable, and its presence will always be felt. I’m thankful for its place in The Canon, and its status as an essential film.
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