Review by Indyrod 7/21/2003
Directed by Martin Scorsese
Screenplay-Paul Schrader
*This review, does reveal most plotlines, with spoilers
Travis-Robert De Niro
Iris aka Easy-Jody Foster
Matthew aka Sport-Harvey Keitel
Betsy-Cybill Sheperd
Wizard-Peter Boyle
Tom-Albert Brooks
Soundtrack-Bernard Herrmann (his last soundtrack)
Travis is a Marine veteran home from Vietnam in 1973, and in the middle of Times Square in New York City. Travis is a misfit, a troubled human being, trying to just carry on with his life, amongst the filth scum grime and corruption that made up Times Square. At least, that's how Travis sees it. He has no working skills, not too educated, and needs a job. He decides to take a job as a taxi driver, working any shift, any part of town, even parts of town other cabbies refuse to work. "Anytime, Anywhere" "Some nights I have to clean the cum off my back seats, sometimes blood". He has a little apartment, drinks brandy over his cereal, and goes to dingy porno movie houses during his free time. You see, in his world, that is normal and just good entertainment, because Travis knows nothing about culture, just the horrors of war. He can't sleep, so he works and works. His only friends, are fellow cabbies, headed up by Wizard (Peter Boyle). Robert De Niro portrays Travis with all the conviction and convincibility the role demands. You see a troubled mind, being sent over the edge by the scum in the streets, he sees every shift. Into his world comes Betsy, who works for a Presidential candidate, and Travis invites her to have coffee and pie, after stalking her. That leads to an afternoon date, where Travis invites her to a movie. Of course, his idea of a movie is "Suddenly Sweet Susan", a popular porno classic, at a scumy mid Manhattan theatre. This doesn't go over well, and Betsy rejects Travis, with him not really understanding why she was pissed. He tells her, lots of couples come to these movies, and predictably, she has had her fill of Travis, and brushes him off. He tells her, "she is in hell, and she will die in hell, like the rest of them".
Travis doesn't give up, he approaches her at her office, wanting an explanation, but nothing comes, he is just thrown out of the office. Now Travis is even madder, and he's building up his anger at the Candidate she works for, since he still really cares about Betsy, but desires revenge. That night, a passenger in Travis' cab, played by director Martin Scorsese, delivers a truly memorable scene, as he tells Travis how he plans to kill his wife and her lover with a 44 magnum pistol. This is a totally insignificant scene to the script, but truly chilling.
One night, he encounters a teenage prostitute named Iris, perfectly portrayed by Jody Foster. Her lowlife pimp Matthew, again superbly played by a demonic Harvey Keitel, grabs her from the taxi, throwing him twenty bucks, and told to be cool. This fascinates Travis, and now his quest has been set, to find out about Iris, and free her from her life of drugs and turning tricks eventually.
That is the foundation of this riveting script, by writer Paul Shrader, who takes no prisoners with his vision of hell. It's dirty, violent, tension filled, explosive, and gives director Martin Scorsese a mountain of insanity to weave into a movie. The decline of what sanity exists in Travis, is the driving force of the story. The characters appear, to lead him more into a pathetic world, a world he wants to change, and that includes eliminating the forces preventing Iris from being free. He will be the avenging angel, who makes it right for a change. He's found his cause, his reason for living, and nothing will stop him.
With an arsenal of weapons he buys from an underground dealer Easy Andy, with help from a cabbie, he is ready to go to war. He picks out his pistols of choice, a 44 magnum, a .38 special snub nose, Colt .25 automatic, and a .32 revolver. He works out, practices his shooting skills, and continues to go to porno movies. As he practices his artillery in front of the mirror, the classic "You talking to me?" dialogue is simply scary and memorable. He attends a rally for the Presidential candidate, and scopes out his plan, for assasination. His conversation with a secret service agent, is another stunning scene by Scorsese. Travis is now mentally, outside of reality, but his drive to do something that matters, motivates him to extreme conclusions. Visiting a local grocery store, in the middle of a holdup, gives Travis a chance to blow away his first scum off the street. All through this, he's writing letters to his Mother, assuring her he's doing fine, and making lots of money, and seeing Betsy. This is all a part of his fantasy world, and reassuring himself, he is prepared to go all the way, do whatever it takes to make the world right again.
One day, he visits the pimp (Keitel), and Matthew tells Travis, Iris is only 12 1/2 years old, and will do anything he wants. Travis buys time with Iris, but tells her he doesn't want sex, he wants to help her get away from her sewer life and back to her parents. The interplay between De Niro and Foster is pure magic, and doesn't leave ones memory easily. And then her relationship with her pimp Sport (Keitel), is just revolting, and sickening.
Travis shaves his head into a mohawk, gets into military persona ready for battle, and goes to a rally for the Candidate, with all artillery in place. Then, it's time to visit Sport again, and prepare for the liberation of Iris. What follows is extremely graphic and violent, and may disturb those with a weak stomach. However shocking it is, you will never forget it.
I don't want to ruin everything, so I'll leave it right there. These are scenes of extreme violence, in a world Travis is trying to free Iris from the clutches of the perverse.
In the end, a little bit of irony is revealed regarding Betsy, and the movie ends on an interesting note. This is my favorite movie of all time, and watching it this time, confirms to me, it's the best movie ever produced, and the best script ever written.