Taxi Driver
As a crime film , as a vigilante film , and as a psychological thriller , Taxi Driveris a classic on all tally . At the nub ofMartin Scorsese ’s 1976 chef-d’oeuvre — and the ground it succeeds as an entry in so many unlike genre — is Travis Bickle , its champion ( and , in some senses , opponent ) , brought to life stunningly byone of Robert De Niro ’s all - time greatest performance .
Travis is a New York cabbie who becomes so fed up by the criminal offense and corruption in the metropolis around him that he decides to take matters into his own hands . Here are 10 reasons why Travis Bickle is the quintessential antihero .
He Has A Point
While Travis ’ methods are questionable , his motivations are understandable . He looks around New York and he get wind streets infested with crime . nonaged missy are forced to have sex for money , trash is piling up around the city , and the politicians are entirely out of touch with the common man .
He think that something has to be done to battle this corruption , and he ’s perfectly right . He does everything in his power to affect the change he want to see .
He’s Arguably No Better Than The Bad Guys
Travis may think of himself as a wedge when he run low out and shoots pimps in the chest , but he ’s arguably no dependable than the malefactor he endeavor to fetch to justice . He operates outside the legal philosophy , based entirely on his own moral compass , wipe out whomever he believe deserve it .
He ’s made himself judge , panel , and public executioner , which may not be as bad as pimping out 12 - yr - old girls , but it ’s in the same category .
His Isolation Forces Him To Dwell On Negative Thoughts
If Travis had more friends to pass his time with , he might not have fall down into the psychological stone pit that led him to venture on a pursuit for vigilante justice .
desolation is a major theme inTaxi Driver , with Travis ’ closing off get out him alone with his thoughts andforcing him to dwell on electronegative impulses , eventually lead to irreversible activeness .
His Voiceover Diary Entries Gives Viewers A Window Into His Mind
ThroughoutTaxi Driver , Travis keep a journal , and the hearing hears his diary entries in the grade of voiceover narrations . These voiceovers provide a windowpane into Travis ’ intellect that give his vigilante actions invaluable context of use .
If viewer did n’t listen what Travis was think , then his sudden binge of violence would be a short harder to digest . The picture show ’s violenceisn’t easy to watch by any stretch , but it is easy to read where it ’s come from .
He Believes In His Cause
For all intent and role , Travis Bickle is a unsound guy wire . The audience is n’t expect to go along with Travis ’ activity and champion his vigilante movement . Butwhat De Niro plays so wellis that Travis really believe in his cause . He call up he is a noble Cuban sandwich and that killing is the good path of action .
His Violent Behavior Is Influenced By His Military Background
Atthe first ofTaxi Driver , Travis has just revert from suffice in Vietnam . He takes a cabbie job because he ca n’t sleep at night , a clear - as - daytime sign of the PTSD that Travis has bring home from the war .
When he becomes disillusioned with the criminal offense - infest metropolis he dwell , the understanding Travis decides to take up arm and kill the criminals responsible for disturb social order is that that ’s what he was taught to do as a U.S. Marine while serving .
He Slowly Loses Touch With Reality
Travis Bickle does not know in the real world . He lives in his own principal , letting his deceitful delusions get the good of him , and he expend the flick slow lose his grip on reality .
The hearing sees from his almost comically calamitous relationship with Betsy — taking her to a porn theater on their first date etc . — that he has no social skills .
He’s Not A Very Good Vigilante
Paul Schrader ’s handwriting andMartin Scorsese ’s directionofTaxi Driverdon’t seek to win over the spectator that Travis is a one - serviceman USA who poses a veridical menace to the world of crime . By all bill , he ’s not a very dependable vigilante .
He does n’t last very long inthe climactic shootout , and he ’s distinguish by Secret Service agents long before he can get anywhere near Palantine when he assay to assassinate him . This lack of finesse makes Travis sense more like a real person .
His Happy Ending Feels Wishful And Sensationalized
Travis Bickle gets a felicitous ending inTaxi Driver . But audience have take that happy ending with a metric grain of salt , because it all seems highly unbelievable . After Travis is leave bleeding out in a brothel crawl with cops , he ’s cleared of all charges and hailed as a hero . Even Betsy takes him back .
This does n’t seem like a natural ratiocination to the history . Rather , it seems like Travis ’ wishful , sensationalized version of what could happen , envisage in his dying moments .
He Descends Into Hell
The final moments ofTaxi Driverseem to hint a declination into hell as Travis drops off Betsy and drives away , await at her in the rearview mirror , and then does an alarmed double take , like his happy ending has been interrupted by a salutation from the devil .
That ’s just one reading ofthe ambiguous ending , but Travis ’ descent into hell seems pretty open ( peculiarly since Scorsese is unremarkably pretty heavily - handed with Catholic symbolisation ) . The whole movie could be seen as the story of Travis succumb to his inner demons .
NEXT : Martin Scorsese ’s 10 Best Closing Shots , Ranked
