The Sixth Sense (1999)
M. Night Shyamalan
The Dead (and Reviewers) See Only What They Want To See
Contra the shiny reviews, this is definitely not one of the best movies of 1999. Not even top 10, although maybe top 12. It is a supernatural tale of a young but deathly serious boy who can communicate with the dead. The catch is (there's always a catch) the dead don't know they are dead because... they see what they want to see. Confusing? You betcha. Fortunately, the plot is not the strongest suit in this game. Neither is the action. Neither is the music. So what is it? Was the movie bad? Not at all. It was pretty damn good, considering the almost non-eventful story.
The trailers gave away most of the plot, which is unfortunate -- the film would have been down right impressive if we did not know that Cole was seeing ghosts for real. But we did and this made the first half of the film a yawn. None of the false starts were intriguing: we knew Lynn was not abusing her son, we knew his classmates, although as cruel as only children could be, were not beating up on Cole, we knew he was not inflicting the scratches on himself (oh, wait a minute! where did these things come from? which ghost did it? who knows). So we had to struggle along trying not to let the sluggish pace lull us to sleep -- we knew the good stuff was coming. This, of course, is through no fault of the makers, it's the trailer curse.
Once we get the preliminaries out of the way, the movie picks up the pace and becomes engaging as the story unfolds. The best part begins after Cole tells Malcolm of his fear. The parallel with his one unlucky patient (Vincent) is well-drawn and makes the redemption theme work. The red herring of the disintegrating marriage was awesome. It is amazing how quickly Anna went from a wife about to have a depression, an affair, or both (in that order) to a romantically human being, desperately coping with the loss of her husband. Talk about misleading appearances!
Two of the truly moving scenes in the film involve little Cole and his mother. In one, she holds the visibly shaken boy (he has just seen a guy with a hole in his head) and frantically pleads with him to tell her what's wrong. This only moments after she has sent him to bed without finishing his dinner, believing he has been lying to her. In the car scene, where Cole finally gathers the courage to tell his mother about his secret, there is another almost instantaneous transformation. Lynn, upon hearing the incredible truth, displays the horrified worry of a mother who is starting to wonder if her son is sane. As Cole reveals details from his encounters with his deceased grandmother, Lynn bursts into tears, relieved and happy. Superb acting by Toni and Haley, with which they outclass the star-by-default Willis, whose performance in the film is often lacking passion and conviction (although he does manage to squeeze out a tear once). These two scenes make the entire film worth seeing.
Obligatory gripe: the ending came totally out of the blue. No, that is not the problem. I like being surprised more than your average movie-goer. But I also want things to make sense, especially when the movie is not completely devoid of psychological content. The twist was unexpected and did make certain odd scenes fall into place, but it opened a line of inquiry all of its own. It seems that some of the dead were aware of their non-living status after all. Anyway, it is forgivable -- Bruce does look like someone who might spend a year with his wife without figuring out that she ain't talking to him 'cause he dead and she ain't. Although it is fine for an ending to be a huge question mark, this one was unintentionally so. It tried to tie all loose ends and ended up untying the shoes and tripping the film. Aside from that, an enjoyable experience. 8 out of 10.
P.S. As there are way too many comparisons between this film and ``Stir of Echoes,'' a word of caution is in order. Despite some superficial plot similarities, the two movies are nothing like each other. ``The Sixth Sense'' is a moving drama (despite the occasional thrill), and ``Stir of Echoes'' is a thriller (despite the occasional drama). It is unfair to either film to evaluate it with reference to the other. You have been warned.
December 19, 1999. BLS