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Revision as of 15:55, 28 September 2009 by 90.209.46.67 (talk) (Undid revision 316543562 by Otto4711 (talk))(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) Fictional character| Travis Bickle | |
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| File:TravisBickle.jpg | |
| First appearance | Taxi Driver |
| Created by | Paul Schrader |
| Portrayed by | Robert De Niro |
| In-universe information | |
| Alias | Henry Krinkle |
| Nickname | Cowboy, Killer |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Soldier, taxicab driver |
| Nationality |  American |
Travis Bickle is a fictional character from the 1976 film Taxi Driver, played by Robert De Niro. De Niro earned an Oscar nomination for his portrayal.
In the American Film Institute's top 50 movie villains of all time, Bickle was named the 30th greatest film villain. Empire magazine also ranked him 18th in their "The 100 Greatest Movie Characters" poll.
Biography
Not a lot is known about Bickle's past other than that he is a former Marine who served in Vietnam, and has "not much" education. He was honorably discharged from the military in May 1973 and is 26-years-old. He is socially inept, has no apparent friends, and is suffering from insomnia. He takes a job as a graveyard shift taxi driver to occupy his time. As he works late at night in dangerous neighborhoods, his customers tend to include pimps, drug addicts, and thieves. He is visibly disgusted by them, and begins fantasizing about "cleansing" such "filth" from the streets.
Bickle becomes smitten with a woman, Betsy (Cybill Shepherd), who works in the local campaign office of a presidential candidate, a Senator Palantine. He often watches Betsy from his cab, and finally enters the office with the pretense of wanting to support the would-be candidate, and asks her out. They meet for coffee, and Betsy finds him odd but intriguing, and agrees to see him again. This time, he takes her to the porno movie theater he frequents, apparently seeing nothing unusual in his choice of date venue. She is appalled and refuses to see him again.
After Betsy rejects him, Bickle becomes increasingly paranoid and starts acting out his vigilante fantasies. He buys several guns and takes to carrying them, and knives secreted about his person — taped to his limbs, for example, or in hidden spring-loaded holsters. He famously practices a menacing, tough guy swagger in the mirror — You talkin' to me? — to use on whomever angers him. Eventually, he shaves his head into a Mohawk. He attends one of Palantine's speeches, apparently intent on shooting him. He draws the attention of Secret Service agents and flees, so it is never clear whether he would have carried out the assassination.
He also becomes obsessed with "saving" Iris (Jodie Foster), a 12-year-old prostitute he has seen on his route. He pays her pimp, Sport (Harvey Keitel), for her time, but refuses to have sex with her, trying instead to persuade her to leave prostitution and return home to her parents. Iris rebuffs him, only increasing his anger and resolve to take her away from a dangerous life. He shoots and kills Sport, but is wounded in the process. He goes on a rampage through a brothel in which Iris is servicing a client, killing the client and a bouncer with a wounded arm.
The newspapers hail Bickle as a hero for rescuing Iris. While in the hospital, he receives a letter from her parents, thanking him profusely for returning their daughter to them (she had been sent home after the police arrived and found out she was a runaway). After recovering, he sees Betsy, who grants him an admiring, seductive smile.
References
- Interview with Paul Schrader, BBC Radio 4's Film Programme, 10 August 2007
- "The 100 Greatest Movie Characters". Empire. Retrieved 2008-12-02.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - Filmmaker Magazine, Fall 1992