Travis: The Professional Taxi Driver

The relationship between Jodie Foster’s and Robert De Neiro’s characters reminded me of the relationship in the movie Leon: The Professional. Robert De Nerio’s Character Travis feels the responsibility to take care of Iris for she is unable to help herself. Their relationship feels real and it is creepy that Iris is a 12-year-old prostitute, and the fact that Jodie Foster is actually that age added a certain amount of gravity to her character. In Leon: The Professional, after Natalie Portman’s family had been massacred she stays with her neighbor who happens to be a highly trained hitman. After looking after her for a little while, he starts to care for her, which is completely normal. However, Natalie Portman’s character was falling in love with Leon which was extremely uncomfortable watching 13-year-old Natalie falling for a 45-year-old Leon. This reminds me of the scene in Taxi Driver where Iris was trying to perform sexual favors for Travis, when he only wanted to converse with her, but she insisted. Which gave the impression that Iris had been doing this for so long, it was almost like one of the only behaviors she knew. I believe in both cases both these men wanted to play the hero, and make a difference in these girls lives.