First Reformed: What Does The Ending Really Mean?

3. Toller As Travis Bickle

Scorsese and Schrader's Taxi Driver may not have the same religious overtones as both Last Temptation and First Reformed, but it's certainly a spiritual movie in its own way, with dejected war veteran Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) struggling to cope in an uncaring New York City.

There's a popular theory that Taxi Driver's peculiarly happy ending isn't quite what it seems, and that despite Bickle apparently being lauded for his violent vigilantism, this is merely his dying vision after sustaining mortal wounds in the climactic shootout.

Travis' fantasy sees him heralded as a hero, repairing his personal relationships and getting another shot at life. This isn't a million miles away from the idyllic final embrace in First Reformed, where Toller's problems appear to melt away despite the reality that he's actually dead on the floor with a gut full of Drano.

As meticulously planned as this all sounds, interviews with the cast however suggest that Schrader's approach to shooting the film was actually far looser than you might expect.

And with that in mind, we must consider the eventuality that even Schrader himself isn't really sure what it all means...