Taxi Driver is a film about many things, but overall it is about the theme of isolation and focuses on one particular loner in a big city who can be construed as an anti-hero. It is a film that draws from many genres: the Western, horror, film noir, and was also influenced by the films of the Italians (DeSica, Rosselini, Fellini).
Discuss cinematically, in at least two paragraphs, the themes of isolation and/or the anti-hero and how Scorsese's film is influenced by the different genres and by the Italians. You might find Ebert's original review and his Great Movies essay on the film helpful.
Taxi Driver tells the story of Travis Bickle, an honorably discharged Marine who deals with his insomnia by working as a taxi driver in New York City at night. The film is very interesting in a sense because Bickle, being a Vietnam veteran, has the atrocities of war in his mind but isn't fully and completely disgusted until he encounters the crime and prostitution of New York City. The film, in a sense, examines the effects of depression, anxiety, and overall psychological issues on a person and how it can change their being from good to bad. However, this is not necessarily the entire case. After all, Travis is trying to rid the city of corruption and crime (or at least he thought he was). In regards to additional genres, this fully reflects the Western films because of the idea of an anti-hero as we see very well in films like True Grit with Rooster Cogburn. In these films, the protagonists can often serve as the antagonists. I think the overall difference is that we usually don't see the psychological demise of characters in Westerns, as we see them build up and eventually realize that their life of crime/negativity would be better off overturned. Lastly, lighting elements of the film very much reflect film noir, as shadows and changes in brightness reflect films of the noir era.
ReplyDeleteWhat is an anti-hero? By definition it is an unconventional hero. In film when I think Anti Hero i think, besides Travis Bickle (Taxi Driver), I think Zampano from La Strada by Federico Fellini. Travis Bickle, taxi driver in New York City, is defined by more than just his profession. He is a war veteran who drives New York’s streets at night, exploring a city where he lives, but doesn’t belong. Travis is truly a loner, surrounded by millions but not truly a part of anyone else’s life. Not only that, but Travis is an anti-hero, a man who has heroic characteristics but does not follow the moral guidelines of your traditional hero. This iconic film draws influence from popular Westerns, horror, film noir, and the films of the Italians. New York itself helps perpetuate this idea of isolation, and the focus on this is reminiscent of Fellini. Travis drives around in a taxicab, a car that every New Yorker uses, but doesn’t make a lasting connection with any of them. Even when he talks to people, it seems like as soon as the conversation ends the people forget about him. This everyday setting is reminiscent of the neorealist ways of Scorsese. One of the biggest noticeable influences in the film is the lighting. Throughout, Travis is illuminated (or not) by film noir esque lighting. Western film influence is evident in Travis himself, who is an outsider who is thrust into the light as a hero after events that may not always seem heroic, such as killing others. The brutality and gore of his “heroic” scene, where he marches through a whore house slaughtering all of the pimps within, would be reminiscent of a slasher film. Also, the framing, clutter, and the sharp angles and turns of this scene remind me of the Italian’s films. The shooting scene also was reminiscent of the gangster type violence of film noir. The isolation comes into play when we see Travis driving his taxi cab. He runs the streets, and they are steeped in shadow, with little light. Along with that, there are little living things present. When Travis goes to the movies, he sits in the frame separated from the other movie goers. At the diner he sits alone, and at home his wide, empty room is occupied by only Travis. In a physical sense Travis Bickle is also alone. He lives in an apartment, alone. He walks the street, alone. He is alone in his fashion choices (a mohawk, really?). Even when he is working, he is alone in a sense. Because while he has the job of a taxi driver, he is in the front seat and they are in the back. Separated by a partition.
ReplyDeleteIn Taxi Driver a young Robert De Niro plays Travis Bickle who is basically just a troubled young man fresh off an honorable discharge from the war, desperate for companionship. We often see Bickle as an isolated anti-hero through the lack of other people in shots with him. We generally see Bickle by himself in shots as he is by himself in the world. The only exception to this is when Travis is with Betsy or Iris, the two main female characters in the film. When Travis is with either of them he is not alone, at least not in his point of view. The girls make Travis a better person because they motivate him to do good. Cinematically, Travis is often displayed as an intimidator with his sunglasses hiding his eyes and his green marine jacket. This leads us to believe that Travis is a person to be feared, and thus, a villain. However, he also does plenty of good and generally acts with good intentions. So what are we to believe? This case is an odd example of an anti hero as they are very unique in quality. Far from a hero, far from a villain. From what I learned in English, anti-heroes sit idle as they watch their lives pass them by. This confuses me because Travis does not possess this quality, he desires something bigger from life very unlike an anti hero. Travis' sense of isolation comes from the vastness of New York City as it acts almost like a depressant for him. The size of the city makes him feel small and insignificant which toys with his mind in a very detrimental manner.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Looking at Movies:
DeleteThe antihero...These unconventional central characters pursue goals, overcome obstacles, take risks, and suffer consequences...but they lack the traditional "heroic" qualities that engage an audience's sympathy...almost always smart (if uneducated), observant, and brave.
Definitely does not sit idle.
According to Looking at Movies:
DeleteThe antihero...These unconventional central characters pursue goals, overcome obstacles, take risks, and suffer consequences...but they lack the traditional "heroic" qualities that engage an audience's sympathy...almost always smart (if uneducated), observant, and brave.
Definitely does not sit idle.
Scorsese offers many brief situations throughout the length of Taxi Driver in which Travis Bickle tries to fit in with society. Be it, his brief love interest in Betsy, his attempt to fit in with his coworkers like wizard, or even his counseling of Iris, Travis Bickle can never fit in with society. This buildup creates a situation which requires constant cinematic repetition. We are shown Bickle driving in multiple scenes which acts as a break between Bickle’s failed attempts to fit in. These driving scenes play out in the same way throughout the film. Robert DiNero gives narration over shots from within the taxi. The shots are long and dull, also, there are long periods of time before the cuts between shots. This is all done to slowly build up anxiety and agitation within the viewer. Bickle’s life mirrors these driving sequences as his life is just one day into the next, much like how the scenes play out as one shot into the next without much excitement in between. This is not done in an attempt to bore the viewer, rather, it is a strategy that is utilized to create a slow-building tension.
ReplyDeleteFinally, the protagonist breaks down in the climax of the film and goes on a merdurous rampage. This is the exact kind of release that Bickle has been searching for as his anger has been building up throughout the movie. It also serves as a kind of fullfilment for the lack of action that the film has mostly maintained; there have been exciting scenes in the movie, like the corner store robbery, but none are enough to fill the craving for violence that Travis has been holding back all this time. The tedious pace of the movie is done on purpous in order to get the audience to sympathize with Travis Bickle. The pacing of the movie picks up drastically in comparison to the rest of the film, when the protagonist gos on his killing spree. Shots are not as long as they had been previously and there is constant onscreen movement throughout the gunfight. The editing picks up in pace as well. All of these cinematic strategies are used in the ending to satisfy the viewer as well as Travis Bickle who feels he has finally found his place in society, despite it being extremely violent.
The theme of isolation is very dominant in Taxi Driver, as Travis Bickle is a loner. He can’t find any girl that is obtainable, and the ones that find him attractive at first soon leave his life when they find out how strange he is. He is very alone in a huge city, suffering from insomnia, dealing with it by driving a taxi at night. His isolation is shown when he is alone in shots, which is quite often. He is also shown driving his taxi, with the barrier separating him from any passengers, much like a metaphorical barrier separating him from any real human relationships. His costume design portrays him as someone to be feared rather than loved, as he wears a marine jacket and sunglasses. These sunglasses act as another barrier between him and other people. He is also shown as an anti-hero, and in this case, the two fit hand in hand. It is his strangeness and isolation that puts the anti in anti-hero, as he doesn’t fit in and isn’t charming in a typical heroic way. However, in a way it is his isolation that leads him to do any heroic deed. His inability to have a normal relationship with a woman is what makes him attempt to be a good person when he finds a potential girl. This is what pushes him to do good things, giving him heroic qualities.
ReplyDelete