obsessive stearing.

i'm willfully ignorant of some movies. i don't like going into a movie with an opinion. and sometimes that means i avoid figuring out what they're about before i watch them. even films as well known as this, i prefer to remain clueless until i see them. if it is at all possible. i knew nothing about taxi driver other than its considered good and has robert dinero in it...as a taxi driver.

so here is what i think for what its worth:

its a slow film but a distinct one. an original concept and i never really knew what to expect as it played out. not in a 'figure it out' game sort've way...simply as the character evolves the film changes drastically.

the movie starts as this washy nostalgic romp through the dingy new york of the 70's. the main character travis bickle (deniro) gets a job as a taxi driver and begins telling what he sees in new york as a cesspool of hell; prostitutes, junkies, gangs, etc. he seems to hate it and at least its suggested in several parts of the film that he may be writing these rantings as a journal possible for a novel.

then he sees a beautiful woman, who he obsesses over. she works for the campaign of a (fictional) presidential candidate. he stalks her, then woo's her in his own awkward way, but then quickly blows it by taking her to a porn movie. then he begins to loose it. from there, the film turns into a movie about a man obsessed with killing a presidential candidate...and a heavy obsession with guns and "standing up" against an opponent. he goes so far as to build contraptions to be able to fling the guns from his sleeves into his hand in a instant sweeping motion. set for the kill: and then the moment...where he tries to pull the gun from his coat pocket (what happened to the gadgets...was it a fantasy?) and is nearly caught...
theres another part where he decides to go help a young prostitute that had gotten into his cab earlier in the film and finds her pimp etc, yet finds seemingly that she doesn't want to leave and preceeds to tell her how horrible she is. in the end after almost getting caught at the assassination attempt he's trying to save her again by killing everyone around her and nearly gets killed himself...instead he becomes the hero???

questionable but not unreasonable ending.

excellent acting all round. great story albeit a bit wandering. great filming. deserving of its success. though i will admit i wouldn't call it my favorite and find some of it questionable. some has been said for instance of its racist tones. there are not friendly portrayals of black people here and the main character gives some hints that he's racist. its challenging to accept but i think should be seen as somewhat a reflection of the characters not necessarily the movie (although it'd be easier to make that claim if there were black characters that were more well meaning in the film..as it is the friendliest black people in the movie look like questionable people at best.)

as movies go, as stories go, it was definitely entertaining and remains as good today as when it was filmed.

great stuff.


8/10