6. Taxi Driver
Travis Bickle is a complicated guy. He's driven (that's for sure), but he's got issues and he's not getting enough sleep. His mind fixates on matters he feels powerless to control. There's a pressure-cooker in Travis and Taxi Driver takes us on a hellish ride with him in the driver's seat, straight down a dark road where all the signs read This Will Not End Well. Travis will go on to do some unpleasant things, partly because he's looking for a purpose, partly because he's a very confused man, but mostly because he turns out to be an idiot. But, for the purposes of this list, the real gem of idiocy in Taxi Driver lies not in Travis, but in another character altogether. Because when Travis decides to speak up for once and actually talk to someone about his confused state of mind, he's guided by fellow workers to the seemingly enigmatic 'Wizard' for some much needed council. Wizard turns out to be another cabbie who acts like a sagely Hells Kitchen version of Gandalf to anyone who'll listen. Played with naturalistic beauty by character actor Peter Boyle, Wizard nods his shining dome and pretends to listen before delivering his wisdom - most of which seems to be bluster, assisted by ambiguous shrugs and hand-waving. Travis finds Wizard and tells him he's got a bad feeling. He thinks he might do something crazy. Wizard seems to be taking it all in. Then, when it's Travis' turn to listen, Wizard delivers a sermon of little sense, something about men and jobs and rich and poor. 'Another guy dies. Another guy gets well. People are born, ya know?' When Travis looks confused, Wizard tells him to 'go and get laid, get drunk - do anything. You got no choice, anyway, ' he concludes. 'I mean, we're all f*cked. More or less, ya know?' We see Travis get that moment of realisation that is entirely the point of this list - that moment when you realise the person you're giving time to is a complete moron. 'That's about the dumbest thing I ever heard,' says Travis. 'What do you want? I'm a cabbie,' argues Wiz. 'What do I know? I don't even know what the f*ck you're talking about.' Gee, thanks Wizard. You idiot.