Probably Unanswerable Questions
Dream or fantasy reading; rearview-mirror sound sting; Travis Bickle in 2021
In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 01:27:27Read transcript
- Though the creators reject it, how much of the ending or the film is a dream or happens in Travis's head is open to interpretation. — Sean Fennessey
- A reply says it is all happening, unlike Burning; it would feel unreal only if Betsy had been friendly at the end, and the sound over the rearview mirror shows the time bomb ticking again.
- The meaning of the rearview sting is asked; Herrmann came up with the sound, played backwards, and it reads as Travis constantly watching his back.
- Scorsese's and Calvinist-raised Schrader's religious streak suggests a heaven-and-hell reading, as with the burning flowers; Schrader's original ending was far bloodier, like a samurai movie or The Wild Bunch.
- A 2021 Travis Bickle would be on the internet 19 hours a day, a less interesting movie.
- Incel comparisons do not fit because Travis has no sexualization, and online he would find a community that fed his disturbances rather than being God's lonely man.
- He would find his people or curate his own reality; in the film he can't, and even at the late-night diner he spaces out.