Story Overview

A troubled Vietnam War veteran, Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) works as a night-shift taxi driver in Manhattan, drifting through the city’s neon-lit streets while battling chronic insomnia. Cut off from meaningful human connection, Travis spends his nights observing what he perceives as the moral decay, corruption, and filth festering beneath the surface of urban life.

Mentally unstable and increasingly isolated, Travis becomes consumed by paranoia, anger, and a distorted sense of righteousness. His inability to connect with others—especially women—deepens his alienation, pushing him further into a private world governed by obsession and violent fantasy.

As his sleepless nights continue, Travis convinces himself that he is destined to cleanse the city of its sins. The line between reality and delusion erodes as he arms himself and begins to take control of what he believes is his moral mission.

With its raw psychological intensity, Taxi Driver is a disturbing character study of loneliness, post-war trauma, and urban alienation. The film explores how isolation and unresolved violence can mutate into vigilantism, offering an unsettling portrait of a man who believes salvation can only be achieved through bloodshed.