Quentin Tarantino compares his new movie to ‘Taxi Driver’
Acclaimed writer and director Quentin Tarantino recently hinted at intriguing details about his upcoming movie by likening the lead character of what may be his final film, The Movie Critic, to Robert De Niro’s ‘Travis Bickle’ from the seminal and Palme d’Or winning Martin Scorsese film, Taxi Driver.
In Scorsese’s 1976 classic, Bickle is a disassociated individual whose lack of understanding of societal norms leads him to some disturbing behaviour, including a failed romantic attempt involving, interestingly enough, a graphic adult movie.
Bickle’s narrative ultimately descends into a violent mission to rescue a child sex worker, played by a young Jodie Foster. Whether Tarantino’s character will follow a similar trajectory remains to be seen, although previous films have shown that the director isn’t remotely afraid to tread similar waters.
The anticipated film is said to be set in 1977 and centres around a male lead character who Tarantino has described as “Travis Bickle if he were a film critic”. This character is loosely based on a real-life critic who previously wrote for an adult-oriented publication, intriguingly referred to as a “porno rag”.
Whilst sharing this update during an interview with the French magazine Liberation, Tarantino has also explained how he had been drawing inspiration from another 1970s revenge film, Rolling Thunder. Penned by Taxi Driver screenwriter Paul Schrader, it seems like there’s a particularly narrow and distinct brand of 1970s cinema that the director is drawing inspiration from.
However, Tarantino assured fans that, despite these influences, his upcoming film is not a revenge picture. With every film of his since Jackie Brown in 1997 involving at least to some degree an element of vengeance, it seems like The Movie Critic may well signify a departure for the director.
The degree to which Tarantino’s film critic character will mirror Bickle is still unknown, but his comparison certainly paints a picture of an intense and deeply flawed individual. As we anticipate further details on Tarantino’s swansong feature, one thing is certain: his final character promises to be as unforgettable as his first.
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