Rating: * * * * out of * * * * Starring: Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Olivia Williams, Toni Collete.
Rated PG-13 for intense thematic elements and violent images.
Not one movie I have seen in my life, has made me feel the way I felt when I saw the newest classic 'The Sixth Sense'. A strikingly original movie that at first glance seems like a horror film with many chills, turns into a unexpectedly movie drama with a surprising ending. The acting in the film was incredible especially by young Osment who gives one of the best performances of the year. Bruce Willis is perfectly cast, as well as Toni Collete and Olivia Williams.
Haley Joel Osment plays Cole a young, smart boy plagued by images of dead people still walking around. No one knows his secret but him, and he is destined not to tell anyone. When child psychiatrist Malcolm (Bruce Willis) finds out about the boy, he wants to help him. Naturally Cole is afraid and scared to tell anyone even his mother played by Toni Collete. He and Malcolm become good friends and Cole finally tells him about his 'sixth sense' and seeing dead people. Although Malcolm's personal life with his wife becomes on the rocks, he still tries to help the young boy and see what the illness is. At first he doesn't believe him and thinks Cole is having visual hallucinations, but after he thinks about what happened a year before he starts to believe Cole leading to an ending that's not only shocking but very moving.
A different movie experience all together. With disturbing images of ghosts walking around and terrorizing young Cole, it is extremely scary sometimes, but most of the time it's a psychological drama that stems from the acting it has in it, and the direction it was made with. Haley Joel Osment is excellent as the young boy, and deserves all the credit he can get in this role that should make him famous. His images of ghosts are not only believable but will give you a new outlook on what ghosts are and what they are doing here. Bruce Willis gives one of his most endearing and believable performances to date, who with Osment make a great on-screen duo.
Toni Collete as Cole's mother gives a wonderful female performance and deserves as well all the credit she can get. Olivia Williams who was so good in 'Rushmore' also gives a great performance. Being written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, this is a pure work of genius, nothing more nothing less. A movie like this deserves to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar as well as Screenplay and acting.
When you see this one, be sure to listen and understand it completely. It's not a horror movie it's a sad, drama really with some scary parts. It means alot to some people, it got down somewhere in me that no other movie before has. To put it another way 'The Sixth Sense' is one of the best movie of this year.
Reviewed by Brandon Herring September 16, 1999. Brandon Herring Movie Review Heaven (http://www.geocities.com/hollywood/movie/3160/moviereviewheaven.html
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews