The murderous saint of New York's slums

Rating: 10/10 (3 April 2004)

I do not see point commenting the technical sides of one of the best movies ever to have been made. I am just tempted to point out how much Travis Bickle fits the pattern of a Christian saint, a consistency in his character which deserves some thoughts. Travis is a loner as hermits are, yet subjects himself to strict physical discipline, as hermits do, leads a frugal life without any aspiration for luxury, as holy men do, stays sleepless practically 24/7, as hermits do, is obsessed with the idea of sin, stays out of the ways of the world (the episode with the jealous man who was vowing to kill his wife with a .44 magnum), yet in the next moment preaches salvation to young Iris, is both an outsider to the society he supposedly lives in (brings the beautiful Betsy to a movie couples watch to strengthen their libido because he has no idea what "decent" people watch), stands below the others (has limited education) like a humble holy fool, and often speaks like a holy fool, yet on other occasions stands above the people around him, up to an unattainable height (his bugging up Sport in the day scene or ridiculing the Secret Servce guy). In short, anything Travis does in the movie EXCEPT his short-lived dating affair with Betsy, fits the image of the saint which "career" he himself wants to bring to glorious martyrdom with the spectacular, and suicidal, assassination of the evil candidate for the presidency who stands apart from the problem of the slums.
Yet, this is a saint of evil and there is no doubt about that. Travis is anything but a Christian, he genuinely hates the "scum" instead of wants to see it flushed down in the toilet, recurs to violence and retaliation, is abusive and pardonless, and quite suggestively, is obsessed with part of what he supposedly combats: pornography. In my opinion, Scorcese is really picturing the image of the modern saint, as he is possible in the 1970's: a society of irredeemable sin engenders murderous saints.