One of these days, I'm gonna get organiz-ized...

This post is part of Nathaniel's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" series in which the participants must post a single image from a movie he or she deems as the "best shot" for any particular reason.

The main character in Taxi Driver Travis Bickle is a character that is constantly on the edge of self-destruction living in a city he literally sees as hell on earth. Becoming a taxi driver is one of the ways he tries to handle his situation enabling him to isolate himself from the city and its occupants while at the same time still being vigilant. His very short-lived relationship with Betsy, an angel amidst the filthy mess, is another attempt to cope the best way he can.

Of course, that relationship doesn't work out and soon after that his presumed safe haven inside his cab is rocked by an unnerving moment with a passenger (played by director Martin Scorsese) who tells him that he's going to kill the woman, his wife, they're watching. Fearing the "bad ideas" in his head after these experiences, Travis goes to a cabbie friend of his for advice who tells him that once "you do a thing, that's what you are." All of this then leads up to the turning point of the film, nearly halfway through the movie, which then features my pick for best shot...

The first appearance of the Organiz-ized poster is mostly why I picked this shot, because not only does it tie into his brief happy moment with Betsy earlier in the film, but also to the latter half of the film when his quest to get "organized" devolves into something truly messy. It's also a quiet, contemplative moment for Travis writing in his diary about the need for a change after his harrowing experiences I noted above. This is the turning point in the film when he decides to cope by turning himself into an avenger of sorts through discipline and violence. It then becomes, to me, the last moment prior to him being pushed to the edge.