The Sixth Sense

Review: The Sixth Sense, Director: M. Night Shyamalam

As a film which has undoubtedly caught the eye of the film going world, it was difficult to avoid the surrounding hype and publicity. Luckily most of the people I had spoken to who had seen the film did not spoil the 'twist' at the end, which, although is rather a laboured point by now in reviews, certainly adds to the "Oh, I see now" factor.

The story revolves around a child psychologist played characteristically by Bruce Willis. I say characteristically, because although his portrayal is quite real, and at times touching, there always seems to be an unnerving 'Die Hard'-ness to his speech, lending the dialogue some comical qualities. Having said that, his overall attempts at revealing the vulnerable and disturbed psyche of his character achieve good results. As the psychologist, he is plagued by a particular event in his professional life which he perceives as his personal failure, and sets out to redeem himself by righting the wrong and wiping his failure from his conscience. This opportunity presents itself to him in the form of Cole Sear, played devastatingly well by Hayley Joel Osment. Cole has a problem, he sees dead people. To the outside world he is seen as a loner, a problem child, and has become increasingly isolated. Hence the need for a child psychologist. Once we have been introduced to these two central players, we are taken on a journey of discovery, as both of these characters in the space of the film will learn a great deal about each other, themselves and human nature.

It is this particular point which the film attempts to address so strongly - human communication. That when this breaks down, an inevitable cycle of interpersonal destruction takes course, sometimes irreversible. This is framed within the context of a superbly told ghost story. The sheer truthfulness and honesty with which the concept of fear is expressed by all the characters, is breathtaking. Cole's' experience of the walking dead, appearing out of nowhere, Malcolm's fear of a deteriorating marriage, and Cole's' mother's fear relating to her own existential angst. All of these are played against the backdrop of the often difficult but finally warm relationship between Cole and Malcolm. Eventually, and against the odds, each character displays courage and bravery as they face up to their existential and supernatural fears.

There are one or two niggling problems plot wise, but in a film where the overall atmosphere created is one which encompasses death, fear, and finally hope, it is impossible not to overlook incongruencies. Superb direction, acting and ambience lead me to think that M. Night Shyamalan has really succeeded in telling a chillingly touching story about the triumph of the human spirit.

February 14, 2000 Harshad C. Keval

This was hyped big-time when it came out and, if memory serves me, was a good conversation piece among those who saw it at the theater.

I didn't see it for a few years afterward, on tape and now on DVD. It was very good but I didn't find it as "the greatest movie ever" as some did. It is an involving story, however, and I've come to appreciate it more with multiple viewings. I've seen it three times, the last one looking for mistakes to disprove the surprise ending....but couldn't find any. The filmmakers covered their tracks. However, a couple of scenes were misleading. Those who have seen this movie know what I'm talking about. For those who haven't, I'm not going to spoil it here.

I enjoyed both Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Osment as the two leads. Willis has had many action-packed, profane macho roles in his career but I like him best when he's low key, as he is in here (and in "Unbreakable," to name another fairly-recent movie) The story is slow-paced but it sure is not boring. In a way, it's nice to see a slower-paced film be a big hit, as this was.

Osment, meanwhile, is a terrific child actor, as he has proved in other films. He's simply one of the best of his young generation. He and Dakota Fanning are the two best child actors I've seen in many years.

This isn't just some supernatural-horror movie. It's a nice human interest story. There is one scene late in the movie in which Osment's mom is having a talk with her young boy in the car. It is an extremely touching scene that brings tears - a great moment in the film.

This is perhaps my film of the decade so far. The reasons are too numerous to go into in such a short critique. Surely there have not been too many films that can take you through the range of emotions that the Sixth Sense does. The prime emotion; fear, is a difficult emotion to generate in a modern audience that has seen it all before, but this film succeeds where others fail, praying on your imagination and generating suspense from subtle devices rather than blatant horror.

It is such a relief that the performances of Willis and the excellent Osment live up to an excellently directed quality storyline. I will be disappointed if the youngster doesn't receive at least an academy nomination.

I seldom go to the cinema twice to watch a film, in fact I cannot remember when I have done it before. Tonight I am taking an old friend to see this film as it will be a tragedy if he doesn't see it on the big screen. He has heard so much about it that he is reluctant to go, as I am when something is over-hyped. Just for a change though, here is a film that lives up to its billing and has you thinking about it for weeks to come. As for the twist at the end? Well it totally disorientated me, my mind spinning back throughout the whole film. A fantastic punchline to my film of the year.

The Sixth Sense is a brilliant film, plain and simple. It is unique in that it relies on imagination and psychology to scare you and make you think twice about the world around you. The director did a fabulous job constructing the imagery of the film, and I genuinely did not know about the ending until it was revealed. Quite a shock! The Sixth Sense goes in my book as the single greatest psychological horror film I have ever seen. Anyone who bashes it are simply not giving it a chance or don't fully realize the complex dialog and imagery around them. Brilliant

Cole Sear had a special gift, the ability to see dead people, his mother Lynn is worried beyond belief at the change in him, and Child Psychologist Malcolm Crowe is brought in to help him.

For my money, this is still the best film from M Night. Shyalaman, since this film some have been good, some of been woeful, this however has stood the test of time.

A real mind bender, this film is thought provoking, dramatic, unsettling at times, and on occasion a little moving.

Arguably one of the best films for Bruce Willis, he's tremendous here, as are Toni Collette and Haley Joel Osment.

I would never dream of giving a spoiler away, as some have done in their reviews, there's a big moment in this film, where everything falls into place, it's very skillfully done, and a real jaw dropping moment.

9/10.