The Most Powerful Scene in Movie History

I love 'Taxi Driver' and watch it at least once a year. One of the greatest character studies in history. Between Paul Schrader's reality-steeped script, Martin Scorsese's haunting direction and Robert de Niro's engrossing performance, never has there been a truer depiction of a troubled mind, an unstable man, and the bleak nature of urban loneliness.

But perhaps the most chilling thing about this film is that when you watch it, you still have no idea what Travis Bickle is going to say or do next. And this is not in spite of how good a character study it is, it's because of it. Because the reality is, most of us are sad, don't know what we're doing and are struggling to find meaning in life. Some just find it easier to talk about, and some find it easier to disguise. Increasingly, however, society seems to have really shown there to be a middle category, those who can't talk about it and can't bury it either. And I think young men make up the majority of this number.

In this scene, which is not only my favourite scene in the movie but probably my favourite scene in any movie ever, a troubled Travis, recently rejected by the woman he found a connection with because of his deep misunderstanding or social norms, confides in "Wizard," an older cabbie, for advice. And what ensues is the best depiction of one of society's most common yet unspoken problems. Here's the scene:

Honestly, this scene, in the hands of anyone other than Peter Boyle, Robert de Niro and Martin Scorsese, could've been comical. Wizard's advice that "a man takes a job, and that job becomes him" and that "another guy dies, another guy gets well, and people are born" is just rambling nonsense, and "not Bertrand Russell" indeed, but there's nothing funny about it. Because Boyle excellently demonstrates (in a brilliant performance from an often-comedic actor) Wizard's own frustrations in the way he struggles to help Travis. Not only is he trying to give advice about an issue that Travis can't even express, he himself clearly suffers the same pain. He's just used to hiding it better, being the respected older cabbie who can shoot the shit with his friends in the cafe and help people out when they need it. But Wizard isn't happy. He says "we're all fucked" and admits he envies Travis's youth. But then all he can do is tell him to go out and get drunk or get laid, the same thing Wizard probably did at the same age. False replacements for true meaning in life. And then comes the inevitable ending of "you're gonna be ok," telling Travis he's "seen a lot of people" and he knows.

But the tragedy is that he doesn't know. He has no idea what he's talking about and, much as he likes the idea that Travis wants his help, he just wants the conversation to end. And Travis, maybe inadvertently taking Wizard's advice, had just tried to laugh it off as the "dumbest thing I ever heard." But de Niro's acting is on point as a man who is barely concealing the pain behind his eyes. In the background all you can hear is the noises of car horns, and glimpses of the violence and debauchery of the city at night, practically drowning out the two men who have briefly tried to make sense of it all, much in the way society always does, before Bernard Hermann's chilling score puts us straight back into Travis's head and the tension of what will happen now.

After that he reacts in the only way he knows how, violence. After coming close (spoilers alert) to assassinating a presidential candidate, Travis instead opts to (through bloody violent methods) save a 13-year old girl from prostitution, and is hailed as a hero. Had his first plan succeeded, he would've been branded a nut job. He's neither, he's an unstable and frustrated young man. But this is something we as a society have always failed to address. The film ends back outside the cafe where Travis asked Wizard for advice in the first place, with Wizard shooting the shit as per. He then receives the custom of the woman who rejected him, having read about his antics in the papers. Travis isn't interested in making a connection with her, and insists the papers "always blow these things up," and then the score leaves us with a final sudden note and again we have no idea what Travis will do next.

This film was made in 1976, and is set in a post-Vietnam New York City. But It's as relevant in 2021 as it was then. If not more so. Male suicide is on the rise, and, as society progresses in a positive manner, an offshoot seems to be a rise in the crisis of masculinity, with much uglier aspects developing too, seen through the rise of incel culture, the far right and violent attacks like the one in Plymouth this year. Copious efforts have been made in recent years to address men's mental health and help lost young men find their place in the world, and this is a great development, but we really need to focus on it more.

It isn't enough to be Wizard. It isn't enough to be there if nobody is going to open up. We can't dance around the issue, or worse still take advantage of it. There are legions of people, not just men, going through this pain, and it has to be tackled head on. I predicted during the height of COVID that the lockdowns would create more Travis Bickles, but maybe it's just society's fear of getting involved any more than they have to. 'Taxi Driver' will turn 50 in 2026. Hopefully by then the world will be an easier place to navigate for many confused and lonely people.