The Sixth Sense Review
by Tim Chandler (timbit AT canada DOT com)August 26th, 1999
The Sixth Sense
Rating: 3 on 4
The Info
Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan
Written by: M. Night Shyamalan
Starring: Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette, Olivia Williams, Donnie Wahlberg
Produced by: Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, Barry Mendel
The Basic Plot
A child psychologist has to help a young boy who sees the dead.
The Review
Imagine you could see the dead; all around you, every day, right there in front of you. What would you do? Would you go insane, or would you try to help them. Could you ignore them? Most importantly, how could you ever convince anyone else that they exist, and would you even want to? This is the problem plaguing young Cole (Osment) in The Sixth Sense. He sees the dead, and it is turning him into a bit of a freak, as his classmates thoughtfully dub him. How could anyone live a normal life when they see the hanged bodies of people executed decades ago? Luckily, he gets help in the form of Dr. Malcolm Crowe (Willis). Dr. Crowe is a noted child psychologist who sees in Cole a shot at redemption after failing a former patient with similar problems.
The Sixth Sense could have been many different types of film. It could have been a special effects bonanza with walking dead everywhere; it could have been an action/drama with contrived car chase sequences etc. Instead, relative newcomer writer/director M. Night Shyamalan takes a dramatic, psychological approach that works well. The film places much attention on the mental state of the characters as the story unfolds. Haley Joel Osment (the young Forrest Gump) in particular emotes his feelings well, whether terror, anger or satisfaction. The walking dead do show up occasionally, often shocking and horrifying the audience; they appear quite dead, but not like the decomposed zombies of many lesser films.
Bruce Willis has been trying to shed his image as an action-film star with such low-budget films as Breakfast of Champions and Nobody's Fool. He has never been a great actor in my opinion, but his subdued, quiet approach as Dr. Crowe works nicely. You are able to forget that he is Bruce Willis for the duration of the film, something people often can't do. Olivia Williams (Rushmore) is completely wasted as Malcolm's wife Anna. Toni Collette (Muriel's Wedding) creates a sympathetic character as Cole's mother, while Cole is convincingly creeped out and burdened by his 'gift'.
The storyline flows quite slowly (the film's only weak point) but is compensated for by a stunning ending. Sixth Sense's ending is my favourite of the year so far, as stunning as the ends of The Usual Suspects and The Spanish Prisoner. If only editor Andrew Mondshein had been a bit more aggressive in his trimming, this could have been a wonderful film. Unfortunately, despite the film's climax, the sluggishness of the film makes you check your watch repeatedly.
Sixth Sense's Cole finds answers to all of the questions asked above, though they are not always answers he likes. Whether trying to ignore them, or communicate with them, the dead simply can't leave him alone. The path that Cole and Dr. Crowe follow is wrought with scares, sadness (but luckily the occasional bit of levity as well) and in the end, you will be moved. Despite its slow pacing, this film is worth seeing, if only for its climax.
Tim Chandler
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