A few months ago, two friends and myself participated in a film quiz. Unfortunately, half of the questions were about films before 1980. This is an area of cinema of which we all knew basically nothing. I've seen a Hitchock film of two, but we've never taken the time to watch all classic movies everyone always keeps raving about. So what to do about that? We started a little club and aim to watch one old/classic/vintage film a week.
Week 2: Taxi Driver (1976) ★☆☆☆☆
I was truly, thoroughly disappointed after watching this film. Everyone loves it, it's 'one of the best films ever' and 'one of the best performances ever' and both me and my two friends just didn't get it. I started looking for reviews afterwards, because I needed to know why it is 'such a good film'. But I found the reviews, just like the film itself, quite vague. Apparently, the atmosphere of New York at night is amazing in the movie. I believe that's true, but not having been in New York, it's a little difficult to judge that. Plus, in the description at the back of the DVD it said that Travis Bickle (Robert DeNiro) was a Vietnam veteran and has insomniac/mental issues. These aspects of his life are barely covered in the story (he says 1 time that he's been a soldier). I think that, because the film delves into his psyche and his downfall, that these issues should be brought way more often. This way, the viewer would actually understand why Bickle is going through his drastic transformation.
I was looking forward to seeing Jodie Foster in the role that got her an Oscar nomination at a very young age. Unfortunately, her role was very small and not that impressive. The only reason (we thought) that she got an Oscar nod was because she took on a very gutsy and mature role at a very young age. It's not that both DeNiro and Foster are acting badly, but just not as (shockingly) good as everyone says they are.
A final problem, which I've had with all older films I've seen so far, is the representation of women. Besides Jodie Foster there is one prominent female character and the naivety of her is unbelievable. She meets a guy who has been stalking her for a while and she gladly goes out with him (to a Swedish sex education film)? Seriously, who on earth would even consider doing that. In Citizen Kane (1941) the women were also very one-dimensional, but Taxi Driver is more than 30 years later. And the film industry is not a stranger to strong women, because in the next year Star Wars IV: A New Hope (1977) would come out with Carrie Fisher as the feisty and confident Princess Leia.
All thing added, I cannot (and believe me, I've tried) come up with great aspects of the film. It has a leading character that I have truly no sympathy for whatsoever and I don't care what happens to him, boring supporting characters, an over-the-top ending (why, seriously why, is Travis Bickle suddenly a hero for shooting a few people to death? All right, they weren't perfect citizens, but it's still cold blooded murder!) and a very limited and superficial storyline. I realize that I'm basically the only one who strongly dislikes Taxi Driver, but I would love to someone to explain to me with specific arguments why exactly is actually a good film.
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten