What I know going in
I know the film portrays New
York City through the eyes of a deranged, isolated cab driver played by Robert
De Niro. I am also aware of the basic plot details of the film, but don’t know
all of the specifics.
Immediate Reaction
A
common aspect of expressionism is “to
present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically
for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas (Bruce Thompson, University
of California, Santa Cruz, lecture on WEIMAR CULTURE/KAFKA’s PRAGUE).” By this
definition, Taxi Driver qualifies as an expressionist film. Through voiceover,
the film allows us to see the interiors of Bickle’s mind. He is clearly an
isolated, socially distant individual, explicating on his own state with lines
such as:“Loneliness has followed me my whole life, everywhere. In bars,
in cars, sidewalks, stores, everywhere. There's no escape. I'm God's lonely
man.”His
thoughts frequently move to describing how New York is a nightmarish hellscape,
and even thanks “God for the rain to wash the trash off the sidewalk.” Travis also has a distorted
view of his own importance, claiming he “is
a man who would not take it anymore. A man who stood up against the scum, the
cunts, the dogs, the filth, the shit.” The film is expressionist because the
exterior world exaggerates itself to match the mood and thoughts of Travis. At
night, the city looks like a phantasmagoric, neon-soaked blur. Every block
seems to have a porn theater, a hooker on the corner, and several drug dealers.
Every person who gets into Bickle’s cab seems to be on the verge of
fornication, angry, or insane. Bickle is clearly shown to be racist and appears
to exchange tense stares with several African-Americans whom other characters
do not even notice. Betsy appears almost angelic later in the film, reflecting
Travis’s post-hero state of reverie. Even the score morphs around Travis’s
shifting psyche. It starts slow in the beginning, moves to a more romantic tone
as Bickle courts Betsy, and enters a clipped, jarring style as Bickle’s already
fragile mental state deteriorates further.
The film is often an unnerving
experience. For example, during the scene where De Niro purchases a gun, he
points it out a window and aims it at two old women. Shortly after, he aims the
gun almost directly at the viewer. Even though the gun is empty, the scene has
an air of danger, due to the unpredictable nature of De Niro’s character. Early
on, he establishes himself as some type of arbiter of moral justice. Who know
what he is capable of accomplishing with a firearm?
In addition, the movie works as a
rebuke to the vigilante films that were popular at the time, such as Dirty Harry and Death Wish. In these films, the main character is often depicted
heroically, lionized for going outside the law and meting out justice to people
who “deserve it.” Taxi Driver shows
that you have to be insane to engage in this kind of behavior.Bickle could have
just as easily killed his initial target, a presidential candidate. Instead he
takes out several pimps and rescues an underage prostitute, more as a way to
get an outlet for his violent urges and release his previous desire for Betsy,
than as a true act of bravery. In the film’s final joke Travis is viewed as a hero
for his actions. His glorification is a nasty comment on the backwards morals
of New York at the time.
Further
Thoughts
There still a debate raging today on
the validity of having an unsympathetic character as the protagonist of a film.
If the film were not so dedicated to portraying Bickle’s fractured psyche, Taxi Driver could easily be dismissed by
morality-wielding people who take offense at being put so near to a lunatic.
However, Scorsese and Schrader add one wrinkle that prevents complete
disengagement with the main character. That trait is Bickle’s loneliness. Who
among us have never felt a pang of isolation at some point in our lives? The
tiny measure of sympathy that we feel for Travis allows Scorsese to trap us and
push us further into our protagonist’s head. The camera frequently moves to
Travis’s viewpoint, the city takes on a fantastical (if nightmarish) quality and
the editing and score splinters further and further. As Travis circles the
proverbial drain of New York City and inches closer and closer to a predestined
violent outburst, the viewer can’t help but be dragged down with him.
Why
is the film on the list?
While it’s not the first film to use a
subjective camera, Taxi Driver uses
the full power of cinema to place the viewer dangerously close to the mind of an
urban outcast. That makes for an immersive and uncomfortably enjoyable
experience.
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