"Loneliness has been following me my whole life." -- Travis Bickle

Rating: 10/10 (7 March 2004)

Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) is one of the great ineffable anti-heroes of the twentieth century. He is analogous to Joe Christmas of Light in August. They are characters of great loneliness, confusion, and angst. However, they would take opposite paths in life. Bickle is a mysterious figure who applies for a taxi position, because of his long bouts of insomnia. He is a former marine, honorably discharged, and is distrustful of blacks. The taxi is Bickle's vessel of loneliness. His interaction with humankind is the meager conversations with cabby clients and the small talk with other taxi-drivers. Most of his time spent is driving in the urban maze of the city during the night. This is Paul Schrader's version of Hell.
One of the key scenes in Taxi Driver is when Travis Bickle is talking to Betsy (Cybill Shepherd) on a payphone after a disastrous date and the camera pans to an empty hallway. It is as if Travis's pain is too much for us to watch. Scorsese said that this was one of the most important shots in the movie. The scene also represents many transitions for Bickle. Betsy represents a possible happiness for him. However, with Betsy breaking off the relationship, Bickle goes into a state of monomaniac insanity. He shifts his focus from Betsy to trying to save Iris (Jodie Foster), a teenage hooker.
The relationship between Bickle and Iris was influenced by John Ford's The Searchers where John Wayne searches for his niece whom is living with a tribe of Indians. When he finally finds her, she does not want to be saved. He saves her anyway. This is analogous to Iris who is hesitant to leaving or staying, but her destiny is not in her hands. She is under the guise of a pimp named Sport (Harvey Keitel) who sports a quasi-Indian hairdo (Searchers allusion), has one red long fingernail (Lucifer allusion) and calls Bickle "cowboy" (Searchers allusion). He promises much for Iris, but will not let her leave. Bickle wants to help Iris, but she says that she does not need it. She can handle herself. Bickle will save her anyway.

Palatine is Bickle's embodiment of evil. He is a hypocrite who will not clean up the filth, the scum of the streets. He is also the controller of Betsy. Bickle can see the lies and the evilness of Palatine, yet Betsy will spend countless hours trying to elect him and will not return Travis's telephone calls. After the failed assassination attempt on Palatine, Bickle then goes after Sport -- the scum of the streets and the controller of Iris.

The chaotic bloodbath that follows is Bickle's catharsis and redemption. . "Here is a man who would not take it anymore." After he disposes of Sport and several other people, he sits down bleeding on a couch. The camera looks down and slowly scrolls away showing all the carnage. It is as if Bickle's spirit is floating away. What happens next really surprised me.

The camera slowly scans several newspaper clippings. Apparently, Bickle went into a coma and eventually came out of it. He is considered a hero. Travis gets a letter from Iris's parents and they thank him for finding her. Later he picks up Betsy as a fare and she seems apologetic and asks how is he doing. Nothing more comes of that, because Travis lets her off at her stop and just smiles and takes off without even collecting a fare. It seems that everything right is now happening to Bickle. This cinematic masterpiece actually ends semi-happy. A twist I hope Hitchcock could have approved of.

De Niro would receive an Academy nomination for best actor, but would lose to Peter Finch who would win posthumously for his performance in Network. Robert's performance is perfectly played. Before shooting for the role, De Niro actually got a taxi license and picked up passengers for several weeks. He borrowed the clothes from Paul Schrader. Many scenes are improvised including the famous "You talking to me?" which is one of the most famous cinematic lines along with Midnight Cowboy's "Can't you see I'm walking here?!". What I like most about this film, besides the great performances and the great musical score by Bernard Herrmann -- his last, is that it is like a Melville novel where there is allegory and the writing transcends a straight narrative. Many film critics have different interpretations for what the allegorical nature of this film is. Great films should be like that. Multiple viewing should be rewarded.