Taxi Driver

Taxi Driver was one of the strangest films I have seen in a long time, probably because of the main character, Travis.  He's just so different and awkward in a way that makes him seem very believable.  You constantly get the feeling that something isn't quite right with Travis.  I have to say that Robert DeNiro outdid himself here.  Going into the film, I already was aware that Travis turns violent later on, but his odd, almost passive-aggressive behavior made me think he would never kill.  But as he witnesses the horrible people and things going on in the city time after time, we can see the buildup of anger and also a sense of self righteousness emerge from Travis.  This all culminates in that fantastic, explosive, even artistic shootout scene.  It seems that other famous directors were influenced by Scorsese's approach to this scene - the one that comes to mind is the shootout near the end in Tarantino's Django Unchained, which is very similar to the one in Taxi Driver (although way more over-the-top).  About the last little section of the film - When the policeman walks in the room, Travis, covered in blood, pretends to shoot himself three times.  He then leans backward into the couch.  The camera angle shifts to a bird's eye view.  I interpret this to mean that Travis actually dies right here, and I personally think it would've been a great ending to the film if it just cut to the credits right there.  This theory holds up pretty well for several reasons, the most simple one being, how likely is it that Travis would survive those kinds of wounds?  Most importantly, however, in the final scene, we hear the letter addressed to Travis, thanking him for saving Iris.  It is read in a very odd, monotone voice, almost like Travis' but altered.  It seems like the letter is a figment of Travis' imagination, especially since his goal all along was to "save" Iris.  Also, we see that weird, dreamlike visual effect when Travis looks in the mirror in the taxi.  Either way, Travis feels like he has done what is right, and is happy and proud because of it, whether he is actually alive and well or if the last couple scenes are just his last thoughts as he lay dying.