The Sixth Sense
There are two Bruce Willises
running around in this wild world of ours. One of them is a hard
worker with surprising range and a good eye for unconventional scripts
like Die Hard, Pulp Fiction, and 12 Monkeys.
But he has an evil twin, who we'll dub Bruce-2, who hails from a hellish
alternate universe where the only genre of movie is that of the Lame Summer
Blockbuster. In his ongoing quest to ruin the reputation of his doppelganger,
Bruce-2 deliberately stars in such rancid fare as Die Hard 2, Armageddon,
and Mercury Rising. So when I walked into The Sixth Sense,
I knew full well that the movie's quality hinged on which of these endlessly
warring crosstemporal entities had been cast in the lead role.
I'm pleased to announce that
the Willis in the film is the Real Bald Deal, bringing his trademark earthiness
and inherent believeability to the role of Dr. Malcolm Crowe, a child psychiatrist
who feels compelled to help an intelligent, disturbed young boy named Cole
Sear with a series of deep-rooted psychological issues. The first
hour of the film plays like a medical drama, with Crowe trying a series
of techniques and clever questioning tactics to expose the pattern of abuse
that he believes is the cause of Cole's sometimes oddball, sometimes manic
behavior. Interestingly, these tactics are actually based in reality
as director M. Night Shyamalan's wife is actually trained in the field.
The various exchanges between the flailing Crowe and the secretive Cole
are tense, gripping, and loads of fun.
And then, halfway into the
movie, Malcolm Crowe learns the truth. This is where I have to take
a brief moment to bitch about trailers and how no one can make them well
anymore. For some hypothetical person watching this film on video
ten years from now, Cole's major revelation--"I see dead people"--will
have quite a bit of impact coming, as it does, an hour into the film.
But for the present, that impact's been totally dulled by the idiots who
decide that giving away almost all of a movie's secrets is the only way
to put butts in the seats. Not to mention that the rancid trailer
for The Sixth Sense conjured up hideous memories of the living afterbirth
that was Mercury Rising.
But back to the dead people.
It seems that Cole is plagued by visions of the walking dead, phantasmic
corpses who wander around acting the way they did in real life--with the
addition of rotting skin and gaping wounds--not realizing their deceased
condition. Malcolm doesn't necessarily believe Cole, but he wisely
takes it at face value--after all, even if the boy isn't really seeing
ghosts, the fact that he thinks he does is telling in and of itself.
The Sixth Sense revives
a glorious and long-forgotten horror movie tradition of subtlety by teasing
the audience with the possibility of its premise. The boy may be
disturbed, or he may really be seeing the walking dead; it can be interpreted
both ways without compromising the integrity of the storytelling.
But this is just one of its many joys, among which are the top-notch acting
jobs by all involved, the diamond-sharp dialogue, and the deft direction
that, like a magician's patter, keeps us so enthralled with what's in one
hand that the rabbit in the other hand, though in plain sight the whole
time, still takes us by surprise when it's finally produced.
Then there's the ending.
You know, the first 99% of the length of The Sixth Sense is enough
to make it an altogether compelling and memorable experience. But
then--in a metaphorical trainwreck on my part--the rabbit comes out of
the hat for a final turn of the screw. The last five minutes makes
this film the The Usual Suspects of the horror genre, but without
the shaggy-dog joke that invalidates all that came before. I shouldn't
have to say that if anyone dares to spoil this for you, you have my permission
to kill them slowly and painfully. Happy viewing.
The Sixth Sense
THE GOOD: Everything here is top-notch.
This movie has real class, something that's been in short supply lately.
And the story delivers real shocks instead of contrived effects-driven
fiascos.
THE BAD: I guarantee you that it'll be too cerebral
and subdued for some people. But that's their fault, not this film's.
BOTTOM LINE: See it as early as possible and see
it at least twice. You'll thank me for it.
MY RATING: 88