Quote:
Originally Posted by Tokolosh
It's possible. Don't forget that he looks surprised when she walks out and never wants to see him again. He can't quite figure out, what he's done wrong. He's not altogether there, if you know what I mean.
|
That part had to be written-in that way to rationalize Travis' motivation and to attempt (a failed attempt) to have him not break character and yes, that's how the scene plays out in the film. He takes her "to a movie" and cannot understand why she's reacting that way.
That's what's being discussed.
I'd be interested to learn if the scene is actually in Paul Schrader's screenplay or whether it's purely a plot device by Scorsese to be more efficient with time.
Chances are though that it was a hole in the screenplay draft to begin with that they tried to fix by cooking up a possible way to get them together and then apart and it was one of many ideas they had floating around about how to get to the unrequited love madness to come. I think they settled on something they shouldn't have and that there were many ways have Betsy instantly know something was up with Travis and break it off and still tell the story.
In short, the inclusion of that scene smacks of laziness, and it's a flaw.