Movie Review by Bill Rendall

The Sixth Sense

The supernatural thriller genre was given a new lease of life by The Sixth Sense. The movie is directed and written by M. Night Shyamalan who makes a cameo appearance as a doctor. Bruce Willis stars as a psychiatrist who is trying to help a boy (Hayley Joel Osment) who is troubled by visions of ghosts.

Dark and muted colours are used to set the tone of the movie. The notable exception is the colour red which stands out like a beacon.

The Sixth Sense is a well crafted movie but is likely to be judged by the viewer's reaction to the dramatic twist at the end. When a movie has a surprise ending it is important that the movie maker plays fair. The ending should be consistent with what leads up to it and there should be clues along the way.

What is shown in The Sixth Sense is not entirely consistent with the big revelation at the end but Shyamalan supplies plenty of clues. In hindsight there are so many clues that I don't know how I missed them. Like a magician Shyamalan creates diversions to distract us from what is happening right before our eyes. The movie even has Willis perform a simple magic trick for Osment to illustrate the craft of deception.

The movie richly deserves the praise it has received. Willis has appeared in more than his fair share of bad movies. In The Sixth Sense he shows that he is a competent actor if given a suitable role in a good movie.

Osment, who previously played a small role in Forrest Gump as Forrest Gump Jr, puts in an outstanding performance for one so young. Toni Collette is convincing as his frazzled mother. You will want to see this movie at least twice to see what you missed the first time through.

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Screenplay: M. Night Shyamalan

Music: James Newton Howard

Further viewing:

Stir of Echoes was released around the same time as The Sixth Sense. There are similarities in the story (a boy sees ghosts who want his help.) There are also visual similarities (the colour red is prominent and breath vapourises when ghosts are about) and aural similarities (music by James Newton Howard.) Who's copying who? You be the judge.

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