Movie Review: The Sixth Sense

The Sixth Sense

28 year-old M. Night Shyamalan did the unprecedented when he sold his script for The Sixth Sense in just one day. Then, tapped as the director for his story, he guided his cast and his vision to a total of six Oscar® nominations, including Best Picture. The Sixth Sense didn't win, but I wouldn't have complained if it had. I'm putting this one on my "Ten Best Movies of All Time" list.

In The Sixth Sense, action hero Bruce Willis takes on the deeper, far more dramatic role of Dr. Malcolm Crowe, a psychiatrist specializing in treating young people. Crowe, who has recently had a patient attack him and is dealing with the attendant case of nerves, is also worrried about his marriage and its lack of communication. He fears his wife Anna (Olivia Williams) may be seeking comfort elsewhere. Meanwhile, Willis meets one of his most challenging patients ever, a young boy by the name of Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment) who thinks he sees ghosts. As the doctor does his best to help the boy deal with his mental problems, he must also work on his own.

Bruce Willis proves in The Sixth Sense that his acting range goes well beyond the heroic fighter by becoming a completely believable hero of another kind. 11 year-old Haley Joel Osment earned an Oscar® nomination for his brilliant portrayal of a boy filed with fear, compassion, and an innocent and inspiring love for life. Toni Collette, who plays Cole's mother, Lynn, is also terrific as a woman who loves her son to distraction and is terrified by what she sees happening to him.

The editing and cinemetography are very good (the latter is overseen by film master Tak Fujimoto), and the direction is inspired. But it is the script and the enthralling story it tells that are utterly unparalleled. I give The Sixth Sense my highest recommendation.

FAMILY SUITABILITY: The Sixth Sense is rated PG-13. Intense scenes involving death and young children will be too much for kids and may even be too powerful for more sensitive older folks. But for those mature fans of truly top notch story-telling, it doesn't get much better than The Sixth Sense.