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movie review - Taxi Driver

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

This is a grim story about a young veteran searching for meaning while struggling with slowly worsening mental health issues. He's depressed, he's erratic, and he has severe trouble connecting with those around him. How much of this is due to his nature and how much due to his experiences in Vietnam is not really spelled out, but we see him floundering about trying to live some semblance of a normal life. Not helping matters are his job, which is of course being a taxi driver in New York when it was at its seediest. He spends his nights shipping fares around despite their frequently having sex in the back of his cab. He starts to develop a real distaste for New York and its condition, and becomes even more isolated.

Along the way he attempts to woo a political campaigner. When he screws that up, he begins his slide into violence. It's here that very suddenly the movie changes gears and we're left to watch as he plots the assassination of a populist politician.

I thought the whole thing worked perfectly. The setting, the characters, the story, all perfect. I've seen this a few times now and expect I'll see it again.

Strongly recommended.