After the first viewing, the film may look too harsh and cruel .It is interesting that the recognized American playwright Tennessee Williams, who headed the jury in 1976 at the Cannes Film Festival, that awarded "Taxi Driver" with the main prize, lamented the rise violence in society and in the movies. After all, the taxi driver named Travis from New York, a former member of the Vietnam War, who can hardly adapt to a normal life, originally wanted to assassinate a man during political elections, and as a result enjoyed a true "massacre" in a brothel. Screenwriter Paul Schrader then admitted that he based his story on the diaries of Arthur Bremer, who almost became a murderer (Belton 2013).
The story really does not have to rise viewer’s sympathy and empathy. Only from the second or even the third time it manages to discern the true drama of human loneliness and restlessness, who is forced to work at night in the empty, cold, dark, hostile and hellish night in New York. The picture of 33-year-old Martin Scorsese is not a thriller about a killer who was hurt by a beautiful young girl from the staff on the preparation of the US presidential elections.
The key to unlocking this tape is contrasting day and night appearance of the same city, its facade and the reverse side (operator Michael Chapman tried his best). Composer Bernard Herrmann, who created the disturbing atmosphere of action in Alfred Hitchcock's films, contrasted the darkness of life with bluestone that still inspires hope. It is a kind of "spiritual" suffering from the injustice of the world and misunderstanding of neighbors. It is a lonely soul of midnight taxi driver. Of course, a great game by Robert De Niro, actor and permanent "alter ego" of Martin Scorsese, allows you to see the true human drama of the hero, which is thrown on the side of life, and out of desperation, he threw a challenge to society and ruthless system.
References
Belton, J. (2013). American cinema/American culture (4th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.
