Sixième Sens

This is an incredibly powerful film. Awash with emotion but never stooping to sentimentality this is the story of one frightened little boy you will never forget. All your worst childhood nightmares: the noises in the attic, the intruder in your house, that cold breath that makes your hair stand on end are here and then some.

Bruce Willis gives one of the best performances of his career as the child psychologist trying to get himself back on track after a violent encounter with a former patient and it would be a crime if Haley Joel Osment were overlooked at coming awards ceremonies for his powerful performance here. It has been a long time since a child actor displayed such maturity in a role. Cole's innocent little face hidden behind his absent father's large-framed spectacles betrays a child coming to terms with a terrifying secret in the only way he can.

You don't need to go and see this film again to realise why the end is such a surprise but you will rush out to watch it again purely because it's an almost perfect example of it's genre.

Laugh, cry, jump a mile out of your seat, sigh with relief - but not too early... We did!

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.

The Sixth Sense is one of those films that rarely happens these days. In other words, I knew so little about it before sitting in the cinema that it wasn't ruined before it started.

I don't want to ramble on about it so I'll just say... absolute perfection. An incredible story that had me and my friends gripped from start to finish. The twist in the tale was totally unexpected as well.

After it finished we sat through the whole of the credits and talked about how fabulous it was. If only more films were like this. I can't remember the last time we did that!

Congratulations to all involved in this masterpiece.

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

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