Martin Scorsese's undeniable masterpiece, Taxi Driver, contains what is arguably Robert De Niro's greatest performance as Travis Bickle, a Vietnam vet whose mental illness inspires him to scourge the streets of New York in order to cleanse it of its sins. Over the course of the film, Bickle interacts with a young prostitute (played by Jodie Foster), and eventually decides that it is his duty to free her from the constraints of her douchey pimp. The penultimate scene in the film, then, sees Bickle unloading his pistol in an apartment block in an attempt to "save" Foster, taking down not just the pimp (played by Harvey Keitel), but a number of his associates. Wounded in action, Bickle awakes to find that he's been branded a hero, and that his one true love - who previously abandoned him - is once again interested. The scene is vague and dreamy, thus provoking a lot of debate.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
