Anyone else question the ending, where Iris' father writes Travis a letter to say, "we can't afford to come thank you in person, otherwise we surely would". They live in PA, no? They can't afford a $10 bus ticket?
shareHoly crap, a work of fiction doesn't conform 100% to our perception of reality? Call the cops!!!
shareWell, the general consensus seems to be that the final bits of the film are Travis' imagination, dying and conjuring up a fantasy ending where he's a beloved hero. So logical inconsistencies in this bit are a result of that. If you want to consider the ending to be literally true, it could be that they just don't want to go to NYC and the bus fare is a flimsy excuse.
shareI heard that theory, but I don't think it's a general consensus. Also I'm sure it wasn't the intent of Scorsese. But assuming it was a real letter, why bother to even make up an excuse. I.e. wouldn't he have only said that if he really wanted to come?
shareI agree. I think the ending is actually happening. I think the "twist", if you even want to call it that, is making Travis look like he is back to normal/balanced, only to reveal him seeing things (Betsy) that aren't there, letting you know he's still not quite right and he's liable to snap again.
shareYes, I think the ending was explained in another movie many years later. "You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain." Travis didn't die as the hero even though he was considered one. Thus, he continues driving his cab until he can't take it anymore and the next time he blows up. How noirish is that?
shareMy take on the end was just that he went through that period of insanity, came out as a hero of sorts, and went on with his life. The movie was all about him being so isolated until he found a "cause". So at the end he was cured.
shareI dunno what Scorsese decided to do with the ending, it's definitely a bit ambiguous
But I've read Schrader's screenplay, and there's no hint that he is imagining any part of the ending. None whatsoever
It's not just a bus ticket, it's also a hotel and food. Plus time off from work. There are definitely families poor enough to be able to afford even something this basic. And it makes sense that Iris would want to run away from such a meager existence to run to the bright lights of the city and become infatuated with a hustler like Sport
Another common theory is that Travis was lying about being a Nam vet because of how inexperienced he looks when handling the guns
But, again, in the screenplay, which IMO should be the ultimate source because Schrader created the story and characters, there is no mention of Travis being awkward with the weapons. In fact, it says that he gives the audience "a lesson in gunmanship". If the scene is awkward on screen it is probably because De Niro himself did not have experience handling big firearms. Travis has to practice, yes, because concealing weapons and taking them out quickly to execute an assassination is not something your ordinary Marine is taught in basic training. Plus he uses holsters and sliders and a large revolver with an 8 inch barrel, which he wouldn't have used before in the marines
Betsy was not a dream, either. In the screenplay she is described as a calculating "star fucker", someone who basically wants to sleep her way to the top. So it makes sense for her to seek Travis now that the media has branded him a hero
To me the meaning behind the ending is more clear cut. In the beginning, Travis talks about trying to become a "person like other people", but despite his best efforts he is rejected. Then he finally gives into his demons and snaps and becomes violent, and ironically it is when he gives into his most antisocial inclinations that he finally becomes accepted by those around him
Most of the people I'd spoken to, a lot of essays I've read about Taxi Driver have leaned towards the ending being imaginary. That said, perhaps I shouldn't have said, "consensus". It is a popular theory, though, and I think the ending can be taken that way. I go back and forth myself.
I haven't read the screenplay. That is the generation of the ideas, but it's not the movie. Tarantino's screenplay does not agree with True Romance's final product. We can't say that True Romance ends with [a certain character - name withheld for spoilers] dying just because Tarantino wrote it that way. That said, I do have mad respect for the author of the story as being the progenitor - the original voice.
But we must give the director his due and ask how Scorsese presents the film - how was it shot and edited? I think there is enough room there to interpret it as a dream, although these days I lean more towards fact than fiction, as it were.
Scorsese seems to think so, too: http://screenprism.com/insights/article/what-happens-at-the-end-of-taxi-driver
That said, there's a lot of debate, and nothing seems to rule out the possible non-literal ending. So, if people want that theory, they can enjoy the movie that way.
Yeah, Scorsese is my favorite director, so I respect his creative decisions
When I first saw the movie as a teenager I believed the idea that it was a fantasy because of the dream-like quality of the ending. Now I'm not so sure. I guess it is up to the individual viewer to decide
I agree. Watch how you want.
That said, when the writer and the director have the same interpretation...
That “theory” is complete horseshit
shareThey would also presumably book a hotel room, have to eat at restaurants, etc. Also, since they are an older couple, there might be health issues or something. Just a hunch.
shareTrue, or they could stay in Travis' room....I assume he would have gotten a decent apartment by then.
shareOn a taxi driver salary? There wasn't any statements made about him receiving cash rewards or anything was there?
shareIf someone saved your daughter from becoming a teen prostitute, would you really want to impose on them by staying in their tiny apartment?
How would they politely go about asking Travis to do that? Travis does not seem like the kind of person who would volunteer to share his apartment, he is far too socially retarded to be so hospitable
And in the screenplay it mentions in the end that he is still in the same apartment as before. The only difference is that he bought a new TV and cleaned up a bit. He doesn't just stay in a crappy apartment because he's broke. When he offers to give Iris the money to return home, she says he doesn't have to and he says "what else am I gonna do with the money?"
He works a lot because he needs to keep his mind occupied because he's losing touch with reality. He doesn't do it for the money and he basically lives a minimalist lifestyle
"Travis does not seem like the kind of person who would volunteer to share his apartment, he is far too socially retarded to be so hospitable"
Wanting to maintain your privacy, and not volunteering to invite strangers to share your home, does not mean you are "socially retarded". What an absurd idea.
That is in addition to all the other things in the movie that clearly show him to be socially retarded. Like taking a date to a porn theater
shareActually the movie "Sometime Sweet Susan" wasn't really porn, it was an erotic art film. I think in some circumstances it would be okay, as Travis said "I see couples come here all the time", but not on a first date with Cybil Shepherd.
On the other hand the Eiger Sanction was playing across the street; he should have taken her to that one instead!
It would depend on the girl, too. Betsy worked on a political campaign. Even though he was a Democrat, I doubt if the kind of people working on his campaign would be the kind of people who would parse the difference between an erotic art film and pornography.
shareMy guess is they were grateful enough to Travis to write to thank him for rescuing Iris, but Iris probably told them how weird and violent he was so they were scared to meet him in person. The "can't afford the bus" excuse was a polite way of getting out of it.
shareThat's a great take on it.
Can you imagine what Travis would do? Probably take them to another "art film".
LOL! That would be a great scene. I can also imagine him offering Mr. and Mrs. Steensma cornflakes with whiskey as they sit nervously on his bed in his crappy apartment, watching in terror as he pretends to shoot teenagers dancing on TV.
shareOh, that'd be as good or better!
How about the first boy in high school who tries to get a little too fresh with Iris? That kid's losing fingers.
And then Travis, having scared off all the boys, gallantly decides to be Iris's prom date. He shows up at her school gym unannounced in that red sports coat he wore to impress Betsy and goes into his "Are you talkin' to me?" routine and his karate stance when he is questioned about his presence by the principal.
shareAmazing! I'd watch it.
shareHahahaha. "Taxi Driver 2: Pittsburgh." Scorsese can de-age De Niro and Foster. ;)
shareIt might be better if he didn't bother to de-age them. Just go full Wet Hot American Summer with it. Everybody else is twenty years (or more) younger than Foster and De Niro but she's still a kid and he's still in his twenties/thirties.
shareBtw, that was Peach schnapps not whiskey Travis poured into his cereal. It was this choice that made Bernard German agree to do the score!
sharePeople weren't able to travel like they are now and there was a deep recession going on at the time of this movie. I bought that they just didn't have the money to visit. Never thought otherwise.
shareIf they were that poor no wonder Iris ran away.
shareIn the 1970s people were able to travel in exactly all the ways that they are able to now. In fact, with far fewer security measures, it was considerably easier. I don't know exactly where in Pennsylvania they were, but from Philadelphia to New York City is a drive or bus ride of less than two hours, probably faster then because there was much less traffic. There was cheap hotel or motel lodging and inexpensive food. Even in a recession, a trip of a couple of days wouldn't have been a big deal for anyone but the most severely poverty stricken. Their letter was probably just an excuse to get out of going, because they didn't want to.
shareMy mom took me to Disney World the year Taxi Driver came out and she was not rich by any means. I hate it when people who were not there think of the 70s or 80s as some sort of miserable dark age. In many ways, that time was far preferable to our own. Real 2021 is actually not too far off from the Dystopian SF that was so popular in the 70s.
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Did nobody else find it more strange how OLD Iris' parents (father) sounded while reading the narration. IIRC there's also a picture of them in the newspaper clipping footage while the letter is being read out and both of them look like they're in their mid to late 70s.
shareMaybe it's supposed to be her Grandparents? Just one of many inconsistencies of this overrated film.
shareI do not buy into the "Ending was Travis's Dying Wish-Fulfillment Fantasy" theory at all, but if the ending actually WAS Travis fantasy as he died, maybe those are actually Travis's parents in the photo?
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