Taxi Driver (1976)

Yeah, Scorscese likes his movies raw and rough. Robert de Niro is hands down amazing in the film as a lonely, mentally disturbed, marines veteran, taxi driver in NYC.

The film is remarkable in that I can't really express all the feelings it evoked. There was definitely sympathy and horror. But the taxi driver was so alone and unreachable that the hopelessness and desperation seemed to be the reigning sentiment. I was reminded of an abused child - which could easily be drawn to represent how the US Marines / Army / Navy treat their recruits and volunteers. The character lacked identity and purpose.

It was wild seeing all these younger actors too: Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Peter Boyle, Harvey Keitel. Definitely evident why they continued to star in films and TV.

The turn in the film before the climax was very fast for me. I didn't see the transformation in de Niro's mind before he went ahead and did what he did. The denouement was also very brief and it left a lot of things unexplained for me.

IMDB