Robert De Niro: The Deer Hunter And Awakenings

I have chosen Robert De Niro as the focus of this paper. De Niro is a multi Academy Award winning actor whose career spans more than three decades. Born in New York City in 1943 to two artist parents, he caught the “acting bug” as a young man. He won critical success for his first film, Bang the Drum Slowly (1973). However, it was 1976’s Taxi Driver that imprinted his range as an actor into many audience members’ minds. De Niro’s character, Travis Bickle, is A Vietnam vet, apparently suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. This theme of mental illness would be played out in two of De Niro’s subsequent films: The Deer Hunter and Awakenings. “Travis Bickle is a prototypical De Niro character. He is an angry, violent, obsessive, urban,
alienated, lower-class, repressed loner” (Parker, 72). The New York City of the early seventies was very different from today. This film portrays the city as how society once viewed urban living: Filthy, crime-ridden and full of degenerates. We can see this theme through many of the films shot in New York City in the early to late seventies. After being rejected by Betsy, the object of his affection, Travis becomes hysterical, violent and obsessive. He loses all perception of reality and begins to believe that shooting a presidential candidate and himself would be a heroic act. Iris’ attempts prevent him from turning into a psycho-path by distracting him from his perception of the world around him. Even in his deranged frame of mind, Travis worries about Iris. While planning his violence he still wonders how he will save her. The complexity of De Niro’s Travis is apparent in that Travis believes that he is numb of all feelings and emotion as he is training to be a soldier. However, his worry for Iris suggests otherwise. Although we are never enlightened about what happened to Travis in Vietnam, we assume that his experiences there have shaped the man he has become. We are also strangely sympathetic of Travis. I believe this in itself highlights De Niro’s ability to bring his audiences on a journey through his films. It is only when you have a prolific actor cast in a role like Travis Bickle can you feel fear, hate, disgust and sympathy simultaneously. A true method actor, De Niro takes on the persona of his characters while filming. Not only did De Niro actually drive the taxi during all of the shoot but he had spent the weeks before filming driving a New York City cab and taxiing passengers around to get a feel for his role. It was De Niro’s idea for Travis to wear a Mohawk haircut. He felt it would better portray the influence of his experience in the army on his character. “The 101st Airborne paratroopers made this a popular haircut for American soldiers to wear in combat when they flew in on D-Day in World War II”
(Parker, 82). In 1978 De Niro took on the role of Michael Vronsky in Michael Cimino’s, The Deer Hunter.
Once again a stellar performance. Michael at first appears to be a very two dimensional character. A Pennsylvania steel worker, he is an avid deer hunter and the leader in his circle of friends. Early in the film we discover that Michael and his two close friends are shipping out to Vietnam. The films main focus is on the aftermath of Vietnam and its impact on the lives of Mike, Nick and Steven. “A powerful theme running through this movie is chance. There are constant references to bets and gambling, the blind luck of the draw that selects three friends to go to war, the blind luck that decides who lives and who dies” (everything2.com). In an interview given to Vanity Fair in 1982, De Niro explains the reason for Christopher Walken’s intensity and emotion in the Russian roulette scene. Robert De Niro and the director Michael Cimino jointly decided that they would not tell Walken about some of the things that were about to happen: notably, his being slapped repeatedly in the face. This is true De Niro. Improvisation is second nature in his performances. Michael Vronsky is Robert De Niro and vice versa. It is difficult to tell where De Niro’s character begins and De Niro the man ends. I have found this to be true in most of his roles whether they be dramatic or comedic. Interestingly, I believe that this is the only film in which I have heard De Niro repressing his New York accent.
Unlike Taxi Driver Mike Vronsky was not a prototypical role for De Niro. His appearance is different from many films I have viewed. The addition of a beard and lightened hair, minus the signature down turned grimace, raised eyebrows and swagger. His physicality was different as was his demeanor. De Niro’s role in this film was in many ways groundbreaking. Prior to this film few films had dramatized the effects of P.T.S.D. Social withdrawal, emotional isolation, guilt, sleep disturbances, irritability, impulsivity, and rage are all common symptoms of what was once known as “Shell Shock” ( Mehr, 189). This film acknowledged the unspoken pain and trauma our returning soldiers faced. The seventies ushered in a new era filled with activism and protest. It was a time viewed by many to stand up and speak. This film provided that voice for many. According to biographer Patrick Agan, De Niro is the “most proud” of this film. (Agan, 28). However, De Niro is not immune from controversy. In researching for this paper I stumbled across a disclaimer for the American Veterans Advisory Board chiding De Niro and director Mike Cimino for the last scene in the movie in which De Niro and his friends sing God Bless America. This act seems to fly in the face of the moral theme and message of the film. The eighties saw De Niro branching out and accepting roles in films of a different genre. Comedy and romance was a new horizon for him. Though rarely granting interviews De Niro has risen to mythical status. In the few interviews I have seen he appears uncomfortable, answering in one word answers, stumbling over his own words. By now De Niro’s reputation as a great “true” method actor was widely known. According to Hal Hinson, “De Niro is the least psychological of method actors. He doesn’t appear to be as interested in puzzling out a characters inner life as he is concerned with the mystery of personality” (Agan, 231). De Niro has been known to not only delve into the persona of his character but to metamorphasize his physical appearance into who he believes that character to be. This brings us to perhaps my favorite De Niro film: Awakenings. Robert De Niro’s depiction of Leonard Lowe is remarkable.
Lowe is a man who as a child suffered from an encephalitis outbreak at the turn of the century. The film opens showing Leonard as a child completely normal. We then see a rapid progression through film clips into immobility. We are then transported to the 1960’s and we see Dr. Malcolm Sayer applying for a job at Bainbridge hospital where Leonard is a patient. Sayer is a character based on the author of the book Awakenings, Dr. Oliver sacks. Sack’s experiences working with these encephalitis victims stuck in a catatonic state are chronicled throughout the story. He is horrified to find that most of his patients have been like this for decades. Dr. Sayer stumbles upon a chemical cure and miraculously “awakens” his first patient: Leonard. Dr. Sayer quickly realizes that Leonard’s reawakening will be difficult in more ways than one because Leonard is essentially the same mental age as he was when he was stricken in his teen years. Having known Parkinson’s patients, I believe that De Niro brilliantly captured the rigidity, instability and kinesis of Parkinsonism. His transformation from a stiff halting patient to one who is free and balanced is quite dramatic. Even his facial expressions and contortions are so real you almost want to look
away. The treatment of patients with mental disorders in the 1960’s was what some would consider nowadays to be barbaric. “Often they were locked away, overmedicated and largely ignored” (Mehr, 297). Dr. Sayer (Sacks), played by Robin Williams, attempted to do what many physicians before him had given up trying. Through the use of an experimental drug known as Levodopa he was able to “awaken” many of the post-encephalic patients from a statue like state, albeit temporarily. Unfortunately, all of the patients in the Levedopo trial returned to their catatonia. Americans perceptions about the treatment of the mentally ill began to change dramatically in the 1970’s. Geraldo Rivera’s expose’ about the horrors of Willowbrook Institution shed light on the plight of these unfortunate individuals. Fortunately, the laws and cultural climate today bars the discrimination, neglect, and the abuse of mental health consumers. Although the three films featured in this essay represent a very minute portion of Robert De Niro’s career, they showcase the range of his acting skills. With age and experience De Niro has expanded his career to include a broader scope of film roles. His confidence is apparent in that he has chosen to play smaller supporting roles in films he believes in. A recent example of this can be seen in The Good Shepherd which De Niro directed as well. We have witnessed the evolution of Robert De Niro the actor for the last three decades. However, little is known about Bobby De Niro the man. This is primarily due to his demand for privacy and his reluctance to give interviews. If we look back over De Niro’s career and his choices in roles, we can see a common theme emerging. Many of his films have had mental illness or psychological disturbances as a central theme or subtext. Jake Lamotta, Travis Bickle, Leonard Lowe, Max Cady, Mike Vronsky, Alfredo Berlinghieri, and Paul Vitti are all characters afflicted with some form of psychosis. Could De Niro consciously or unconsciously be drawn to these roles? Could the fact that De Niro’s father is rumored to have suffered from Schizophrenia have anything to do with it? I can only assume these questions will remain unanswered as De Niro the man remains as mysterious as the characters he often plays.