I had the pleasure of seeing and reviewing ‘Shutter Island’ (2010) a few weeks ago at a local cinema. Whilst I was amazed at the film’s crisp cinematography and Martin Scorsese’s attempt at the psychological thriller, I was even more taken by Leonardo Di Caprio’s intense portrayal of Teddy Daniels. His performance was a throttling reminder of Scorsese’s long-lasting fascination with the lonely male soul. Up until recently, Robert De Niro was frequently given the task of bringing such characters to life, much like Di Caprio in Scorsese’s most recent feature and other earlier titles of his, such as ‘The Departed’ (2006) and ‘The Aviator’ (2004). Examples of Robert De Niro’s lonely soul, however, outweigh the number of times Leonardo Di Caprio, Harvey Keitel, Daniel Day-Lewis or Willem Dafoe have portrayed a lonely male antihero or villain in Scorsese’s filmography. De Niro has given us Johnny Boy in ‘Mean Streets’ (1973), Rupert Pupkin in ‘The King of Comedy’ (1983), Max Cady in ‘Cape Fear’ (1991) and Sam ‘Ace’ Rothstein in ‘Casino’ (1995). I do, however, believe that De Niro’s portrayal of Travis Bickle in ‘Taxi Driver’ (1976) and Jake La Motta in ‘Raging Bull’ (1980) fit the criteria of Scorsese’s lonely male soul most effectively.
A plethora of articles, texts and blogs – both academic and non-academic – have been written on Travis and Jake. Still, after so many years of enjoying both films, I can see why interest in both characters has sustained. Their loneliness of the heart, mind and soul explicitly carries both narratives; this theme has become a cornerstone of Scorsese’s film making. Both films are about an anomic man’s rise and fall. Whilst Travis is ‘God’s lonely man’, he manages to anarchically rise and execute Sport and his entourage of sex clients, much to the horror of Iris (Jodie Foster), the girl he is supposedly rescuing from the dirty depths of prostitution. Jake, on the other hand, tastes success as an up and coming boxer, only to fall from grace after gaining weight, becoming embroiled in legal trouble and failing as a husband and a brother. There is not an ounce of romance or affection in either man’s body; only intensity. Travis is initially charming with Betsy, but then threatens her in Palantine’s office, opening expressing his distaste for her, telling her that she will ‘burn in hell’ with the rest of ordinary society, after she fails to return his calls. Jake, in a similar way to Travis’ initial attraction to Betsy, seems to be taken by Vicky’s angelic beauty. His initial gentility and affection towards her, however, descends into selfish, violent suspicion.
Both men become forgotten in their respective cityscapes; they are misunderstood because they themselves are misunderstanding. Are they violently seeking redemption for the sins they continue to commit, as Scorsese enthusiasts continue to assert? To be honest, I beg to differ. Scorsese’s men are searching for normalcy, but they themselves are abnormal, which raises the problematic question: how is normality to be achieved when the subject seeking it is abnormal? Their fingers are not on the pulse when it comes to those close to them. For instance, Travis is ditched by Betsy (Cybil Shepherd) after he takes her to a Swedish porn film on their second ‘date’. Whether his actions equate to offensiveness or faux pas is irrelevant. The reality is: Travis does not understand people. Jake, in many ways, is no different. Vicky (Cathy Moriarty) and Joey (Joe Pesci) support Jake’s boxing career, despite his unjustified, violent, paranoid explosions. His temperamental treatment of family leads him to ruin. Towards the conclusion of the film, for example, Jake is framed alone in his darkened cell after being apprehended. In this scene, he gruesomely punches the jail walls out of anger, repetitively yelling ‘why?’ and sobbing the phrase’ I’m so stupid!’ over and over. Both Travis and Jake become self-destructive as a result of social exile. Travis employs a dehumanising exercise regime and arms himself with weaponry to fight off ugly minority groups in order to keep busy, since he has no one and nothing else to live for. Jake and Travis, as we can see, isolate themselves in their environments, much like Di Caprio’s men in Scorsese’s work post-2000.
Martin Scorsese’s cinema of the lonely soul has a criteria list. Generally, it focuses on men who are socially detached and experience suffering as a consequence. Scorsese also shows that such men become alienated because of their inability to comprehend life around them since they themselves are incomprehensible. Their self-destruction, however, is symptomatic of this social detachment. Finally, Scorsese’s lonely male soul is devoid of romance or affection. This gap is replaced with intensity that is often violent, as Robert De Niro has shown us (and as Leonardo Di Caprio is showing us today).
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