The Sixth Sense (1999) Reviewed by Brian Matherly **** out of *****
Cast: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Olivia Williams, Haley Joel Osment, Donnie Wahlberg Written and Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan Running Time: 107 minutes Date Reviewed: August 9, 1999
Bruce Willis stars as Malcolm, an award winning child psychologist who discovers one night that one of his former patients is still suffering from inner demons. The now grown man breaks into his apartment while he and his wife (Olivia Williams from Rushmore) are celebrating his award, shoots Malcolm in the stomach, then takes his own life. Almost nine months later, Malcolm discovers Cole (Haley Joel Osment, in a brilliant performance), another young man afflicted with the same turmoil as his former patient. He takes on the child's case in the hope of redeeming himself for botching up the previous one, alienating his wife in the process. He soon discovers that they boy can see and speak to the dead, and his life becomes forever turned upside down.
Although the first hour is very slow, The Sixth Sense turns out to be a very powerful and moving film. I was expecting this film to be Mercury Rising 2, but was astonished to discover an extremely well plotted out little thriller with an outstandingly satisfying ending. You'll find yourself mentally retracing your steps through the film to see if you actually saw what you think you did once the credits roll. I must give M. Night Shyamalan a lot of credit for a brilliantly written screenplay.
The cast should also be given a lot of credit for making the movie as solid as it is. A lesser cast could have made this film a joke. Bruce Willis portrays his character perfectly, balancing his need to help Cole and his agony over his strained relationship with his wife skillfully. Haley Joel Osment shines as nine year old Cole, showing patience in his character that few young actors these days can pull off. Toni Collette, looking markedly different from her pathetic character in Muriel's Wedding, gives a strong performance as Cole's mother, who is trying to cope with both her son's "illness" and the passing of her mother. Finally, Olivia Williams deftly portrays a woman having to struggle with a husband who's not around and flirtations with a co-worker that could lead to a begrudgingly accepted end.
It's a shame that they show Cole's abilities in the trailer, because the movie takes close to forty minutes to get around to doing the same, so we already know what's going on before most of the rest of the cast does. In retrospect though, the forty minute set-up is essential to enjoying the end of the film, so I have fewer complaints now then I did while I was watching the film. I'm glad that the run of teen-styled horror films has passed and filmmakers are starting to make more adult fare. Films like this, the similarly themed Stir of Echoes, and countless others to be released later in the year should make for a pretty entertaining close to 1999. [PG-13]
Brian Matherly -- bmath2000@hotmail.com The Jacksonville Film Journal URL:http://users.southeast.net/~chuckd21/
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