The Sixth Sense (Two-Disc Vista
Series) starring Bruce Willis, Haley
Joel Osment, Toni Collette, Olivia
Williams, Trevor Morgan
What Happened?...
I see dead people, whispers little Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment), scared
to affirm what is to him now a daily occurrence. This peaked 9-year old,
already hypersensitive to begin with, is now being haunted by seemingly
malevolent spirits. Child psychologist Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) is
trying to find out whats triggering Coles visions, but what appears to be a
psychological manifestation turns out to be frighteningly real. It might be
enough to scare off a lesser man, but for Malcolm its personal--several
months before, he was accosted and shot by an unhinged patient, who
then turned the gun on himself. Since then, Malcolm has been in turmoil--
he and his wife (Olivia Williams) are barely speaking, and his life has taken
an aimless turn. Having failed his loved ones and himself, hes not about to
give up on Cole. This third feature by M. Night Shyamalan sets itself up as
a thriller, poised on the brink of delivering monstrous scares, but gradually
evolves into more of a psychological drama with supernatural undertones.
Many critics faulted the film for being mawkish and New Age-y, but no
matter how you slice it, this is one mightily effective piece of filmmaking.
The bare bones of the story are basic enough, but the moody atmosphere
created by Shyamalan and cinematographer Tak Fujimoto made this one
of the creepiest pictures of 1999, forsaking excessive gore for a sinisterly
simple feeling of chilly otherworldliness. Willis is in his strong, silent type
mode here, and gives the film wholly over to Osment, whose crumpled
face and big eyes convey a child too wise for his years; his scenes with his
mother (Toni Collette) are small, heartbreaking marvels. And even if you
figure out the films surprise ending, it packs an amazingly emotional wallop
when it comes, and will have you racing to watch the movie again with a
new perspective. You may be able to shake off the sentimentality of The
Sixth Sense, but its craftsmanship and atmosphere will stay with you for
days. --Mark Englehart
For those who haven't seen this film, don't worry. This review has no plot
spoilers.
There's an old saw that everyone has one big novel or story in them.
Unfortunately for M Night Shyamalan, "The Sixth Sense" was it. Its
tremendous success encouraged him to make similar films, which have
been increasingly dumb and dumber. "The Last Airbender" is about to be
released, and unless it's an unusually good film, it will be renamed with the
obvious vulgarity and quickly go to video.
But "The Sixth Sense" is a classic. Bruce Willis is a child psychologist
trying to help Haley Joel Osment, a disturbed pre-teen who finally reveals
that he "sees dead people". Willis thinks Osment might be schizophrenic,
and is about to give up the case, when he discovers that the chi ld /might/
be telling the truth, and he finds a way to help the boy come to grips with
the situation, regardless of whether he's sane or psychotic. In a following
scene between Osment and his mother (Toni Collette), we learn whether
he really does "see dead people". And then...
Forget that the "The Sixth Sense" is a psychological thriller. It's worth
seeing simply for Shyamalan's understated direction and Willis's and
Osment's beautiful performances. The latter is one of the great child
performances in movie history.
I am bothered by a recent reviewer who says that he didn't find this film
"entertaining". It appears we have reached a point anyone born after "Star
Wars" cannot appreciate dramas. That's pathetic and disturbing. If nothing
else, "The Sixth Sense" is entertaining in the literal meaning of the word --
it holds our attention from start to finish.
The transfer is typical Disney -- richly colored, with extreme detail and
sharpness. It's close to demo quality.
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