Taxi Driver spoilers explained

What is the main twist in Taxi Driver?

Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) fails to assassinate presidential candidate Palantine, but then goes to the brothel where he murders the pimp Sport (Harvey Keitel), the money man, and a client, and is shot himself. The media later portrays him as a hero who saved the underage prostitute Iris (Jodie Foster), but the audience knows he remains dangerously unstable.

What happens in Taxi Driver?

Travis Bickle is a 26-year-old Vietnam veteran living in New York City. He suffers from chronic insomnia and takes a job driving a taxi at night, driving through the city's seedy streets. He is deeply lonely and disgusted by what he sees: pimps, prostitutes, junkies, and criminals. He begins keeping a diary, writing about his desire for a real rain to wash the scum off the streets.

One day, he sees a woman in a white dress outside a campaign office for presidential candidate Charles Palantine. She is Betsy (Cybill Shepherd), a volunteer. Travis becomes obsessed with her. He walks into the office and asks her out for coffee. She agrees, and they go to a diner. He is awkward but sincere. He takes her to a movie, but he chooses a pornographic film, not realizing it is inappropriate. Betsy is disgusted and leaves. He tries to apologize and win her back, but she rejects him. He calls her repeatedly and even confronts her at the campaign office, where she has him thrown out.

Travis's mental state deteriorates. He buys a variety of guns from a dealer. He practices drawing and shooting in his apartment, doing exercises in front of a mirror, famously saying, "You talkin' to me?" He becomes fixated on the violence and corruption around him. He starts attending a Palantine rally, planning to assassinate him. He also encounters a young prostitute named Iris (Jodie Foster) who works for a pimp named Sport (Harvey Keitel). Travis sees her being forced into a cab by Sport and becomes obsessed with saving her.

He approaches Iris on the street and tries to convince her to leave prostitution. She is initially resistant but agrees to have coffee with him. He tells her she is too young and that she should go back to her parents. She says she doesn't want to. He gives her money and tells her to call him if she needs help.

Travis decides to assassinate Palantine at a rally. He shaves his head into a Mohawk, buys a new gun, and goes to the rally. He tries to get close but is spotted by Secret Service agents. He runs and escapes, but his plan fails. He then decides to rescue Iris by force. He drives to the brothel where she works. He pays Sport for her, but Sport is suspicious. Travis pulls out a gun and shoots Sport in the stomach. A fight ensues. The money man comes out and Travis shoots him. A client comes out and Travis shoots him too. He is shot in the neck but continues. He finds Iris and tells her to leave. He sits on a couch, bleeding, and puts a gun to his own head, but it clicks empty. He laughs maniacally.

The police arrive and find him unconscious. He is taken to the hospital. The media reports that he is a hero who saved a young girl from a life of prostitution. Iris's parents send him a thank-you letter. He is cleared of any wrongdoing. He returns to his taxi driving job. One night, he picks up a passenger who looks suspicious. In the rearview mirror, Travis's eyes dart nervously, and the film ends with him driving away, his violent tendencies still simmering beneath the surface.

Quick, non-spoiler context

Suffering from insomnia, disturbed loner Travis Bickle takes a job as a New York City cabbie, haunting the streets nightly, growing increasingly detached from reality as he dreams of cleaning up the filthy city.