★★★★½

 Watched 17 Feb, 2020

Taxi Driver is incredible at getting into your head. It’s a very slow movie that takes time to develop, and makes you get absorbed in its vibe and atmosphere. Martin Scorcese proves why he is one of the best directors of all time with really interesting decisions on how to tell the story. You go from being a spectator on the outside to a part of the character. It has one of the best scores I’ve ever heard in a movie that got stuck in my head ever since I heard it. The look and the aesthetic of the movie have been copied and recreated several times by movies like Joker. You can the source of insipiration, the gold standard for a grimy portrayal of New York. It shows a man’s slow descent into madness in one of the most unique ways possible. Joker is very derivative of this movie and that becomes painfully apparent as you watch it and go deeper into the story. Some scenes are so iconic that you’ll never forget them. This isn’t for everyone and I feel like sometimes it’s appreciated for the wrong reasons. It isn’t the rapid violence or psychopathy that makes this a masterpiece, it’s the slow and contemplative character study. It’s the extremity and attention to detail. This is a nearly perfect movie. My only flaw is that although the ending is ambiguous and in a way poetic, the catharsis of the film isn’t satisfying and leaves you wanting more. But maybe that’s the intention of Scorcese. If you ever get the opportunity, watch this movie, it might even teach you a thing or two about yourself.