The Sixth Sense (1999)

[broadway86]

Posted: 5/19/08 at 8:40pm

I was watching this movie last night, and I felt compelled to start a thread about it.

As far as '99 is concerned, American Beauty and Talented Mr. Ripley reign supreme, in my eyes. However, I can't deny the incredible power and craft behind this little gem. It is, easily, Shyalaman's most satisying and successful film. It works beautifully, with a sensivity, emotional clarity, intelligence, and humor that is all too rare these days.

Moreso than many movies, this is one that continues to resonate with me. For example, by the time the car scene with Cole and his mom comes up, I am a complete mess. Every. Time.

As I was watching the movie, I realized that one particular element continues to grow and evolve with each viewing. That element is Toni Collette as Lynn Sear. I was always wondering who I would have chosen for Supporting Actress that year, as other noms included Chloe Sevigny, Catherine Keener, Samantha Morton, and winner Angelina Jolie. Although I understand that it NEVER was going to happen, I now think that Collette should have won.

She is absolutely magical in a performance that tends to go right over people's heads. From her fierce and vulnerable relationship with her son, to her fears about her son's condition, to her line reading of "Look at my face...", it is in the specificity of her work that we see years of backstory.

Haley Joel Osment is equally wonderful, and I feel that the crowning achievement of the movie is the famous car scene, in which Cole and his mother come to understand each other in unexpected ways. As Cole tells Lynn about the personal information his dead grandmother has given to him, her reactions are just as important as what he is saying.

It is a completely stock role, yes, but Collette puts in EVERYTHING that she has to give Lynn Sear a compelling, emotional reality. Heartbreaking and brilliant. Updated On: 5/19/08 at 08:40 PM

[nitsua]

Posted: 5/19/08 at 8:47pm

It's one of the best movies I've ever seen, and M. Night ever made. Nothing he's made since has even compared.

I don't know why I don't own it.

[Cruel_Sandwich]

Posted: 5/19/08 at 8:48pm

What was the car scene again? I haven't seen this movie in years.

[broadway86]

Posted: 5/19/08 at 8:53pm

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Uy92lCwzSqI

[madbrian]

Posted: 5/19/08 at 8:54pm

The first time you watch this movie, it's really suspenseful. On subsequent viewings, it's such a sad movie.

[Kasie]

Posted: 5/19/08 at 8:58pm

I want to see Shyamalan's new movie The Happening. I am hoping it will be better than the sh*t that was The Village.

The Sixth Sense is his best yet.
Updated On: 5/19/08 at 08:58 PM

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 5/19/08 at 9:09pm

I totally agree. I personally thought it was the best film of '99 though. I thought Osment was very good but honestly I really thought Willis gave his best performance. He gave a really layered, nuanced performance that deserved to garner him more attention. But, yes, the performance that was worth writing home about in the movie was Collette's. She is so incredibly talented and I loved her work here...she definitely should have been a stronger contender for Supporting Actress.

I love this movie...it's so uniquely moving and powerful.

[broadway86]

Posted: 5/19/08 at 9:12pm

Yeah, Willis was also wonderful. I'm not a fan at all, but his performance gets better each time I watch it.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 5/19/08 at 9:14pm

This is a FANTASTIC film. Easily Shyamalan's best work. I thought all three of the leads were fantastic. Collette did so much in that film without speaking a word.

However, for me, the film belonged to Haley Joel Osment, who was just brilliant. I saw The Cider House Rules, and this might get me shot here, but I thought Osment gave a much better performance than Michael Caine did. I would have voted for Osment.

It's a shame Shyamalan has not done anything nearly as good since, and his most recent films (The Village, The Lady in the Water) have been absolute rubbish.

[broadway86]

Posted: 5/19/08 at 9:21pm

I thought Osment gave a much better performance than Michael Caine did.

COMPLETELY agreed. Everytime I watch Osment, either in this or AI, I am amazed by his spot-on instincts. His performances in both films are flawless, especially for someone his age.

However, I would have voted for Jude Law in The Talented Mr. Ripley. He completely embodied Dickie Greenleaf, and gave him an unaccountable amount of layers (selfish, seductive, amoral, temperamental, learned, passionate, charismatic, etc.) with limited screentime. I thought it was an indelible creation, and a remarkable performance. Updated On: 5/19/08 at 09:21 PM

[tazber]

Posted: 5/19/08 at 9:27pm

'99 was also the year of Boys Don't Cry.

As far as 6th Sense goes, I liked it a lot. As someone said earlier despite knowing the end, it stands up to repeated viewing.
Toni Colette was just incredible.

[best12bars]

Posted: 5/19/08 at 9:43pm

I agree, and think it's one of the best films of the last 20 years.

And I think now (and thought then) that Toni Colette should have won the Oscar. I saw Angelina's performance, and it was very good... but Toni had all the layers and nuances. A much more complex performance. And IMO, she "disappeared" into it. I felt like I was watching someone else. Brilliant, understated work, hitting all the right notes.

And, as Michael Caine said in his own acceptance speech, Haley Joel Osment should have won. That's one of the best child performances ever put on film.

And as an overall film, it truly is a masterpiece.

I saw it here in L.A. on the day it opened. Before anyone knew about the big "twist" in the plot. And I will never forget the audible GASP coming from the audience (myself included) when Bruce Willis realized what was going on.

And that leads me to Willis... it's such a perfect performance. He's not showy in any way. It's not a star turn, but it's still a solid leading performance that definitely holds the movie together. Other big movie stars might have gotten in the way of the story, but he takes a back seat to it. I have nothing but praise for his work in this film. And in Unbreakable as well.

And madbrian---I completely agree... once you get past the shock ending, it's such a sad movie.

Also, a quick note of recognition to Donny Walberg. His one scene is completely shattering. Excellent work. I will never forget his gaunt, tortured face in that shower. It spoke volumes.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 5/19/08 at 10:23pm

I've never understood why everybody loves this little movie so much. I found it entirely adequate in every way, an overlong Twilight Zone episode with an allegedly "surprise ending" that I saw coming a LONG time before the end.

Yeah, the acting is quite good, especially Toni Collette and Haley Joel Osment, and even Bruce Willis rises to the occasion, delivering one of his two best performances, the other being his work in TWELVE MONKEYS.

But thinking of this as being the best in the year that included TOPSY TURVY, which was infinitely superior in every way to SIXTH SENSE, just mystifies me. One of the best films of the last 20 years? Sorry, there's just no way.

There's just nothing here beyond the solution to a terribly simple little puzzle. He sees dead people and gets scared. He sees dead people and gets scared. He sees dead people and gets scared. He sees dead people and gets scared. He talks to Bruce Willis, and then he sees dead people and gets scared. Then, two hours later, he sees dead people without getting scared. The end.

Ho-hum.

Give me TOPSY TURVY, TITUS, THERE WILL BE BLOOD, THE LORD OF THE RINGS, ED WOOD, WONDER BOYS, CHILDREN OF MEN, OUT OF SIGHT, or any dozen or movies made in the last 20 years over this slight flick.

[mikem]

Posted: 5/19/08 at 10:45pm

I went to see this movie with a friend on opening weekend, and I knew nothing about it before I went. During most of the film, I was thinking, "This is kind of slow...the payoff at the end better be pretty amazing."

And it was.

[broadway86]

Posted: 5/19/08 at 11:11pm

I've never understood why everybody loves this little movie so much.

Judging from your thoughts on it, you probably never will. First of all, I think it's a beautifully made movie, unfolding like a book that the reader can't put down. The ghost scenes are unexpected in the respect that they are not gory or over-the-top. They leave a lot to the imagination, and are all the more disturbing and eerie because of that.

Equally effective, as I stated before, is the relationship between between mother and son. I would like to discuss the relationship between Dr. Crowe and Cole later on, but this particular pairing of characters resonates with me. She is a single parent, raising a child that she doesn't understand. There are moments where I even feel she is a little afraid of him, but she loves him, is devoted to him, and is determined to fight for both of them, if need be. When he reveals his secret and what he knows about her relationship with her own mother, that shakes her to the very core, and they find a renewed sense of trust and understanding between one another. Their lives will never be like everyone else's, but they are going to find a way to make it through, together.

I never got that from a Twilight Zone episode. Updated On: 5/19/08 at 11:11 PM

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 5/19/08 at 11:27pm

My favorite film of 1999, is The Mummy. But, The Sixth Sense is my second favorite. I don't know why everyone hates The Village. I couldn't love it more. I love all his films. Now, what I find garbage, is American Beauty. Utterly unwatchacle garbage.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 5/19/08 at 11:30pm

Heh! Proves my theory; If Roscoe hates it it must be good!

[broadway86]

Posted: 5/19/08 at 11:50pm

My favorite film of 1999, is The Mummy.

I love that movie, and I mean no offense by this, but I can't tell if you're kidding or not...

Now, what I find garbage, is American Beauty. Utterly unwatchacle garbage.

You LIIIEE!!! Updated On: 5/19/08 at 11:50 PM

[StickToPriest]

Posted: 5/20/08 at 1:31am

1999 was a great year for cinema.

And I love this film and Signs, and I hope The Happening is his return to form.

And, in regards to American Beauty, I adore that film. It may be my favorite movie of all-time. Yeah, I know it isn't the BEST ever. But it's damn good, and it might be my favorite.

[TheActr97J]

Posted: 5/20/08 at 2:19am

I really want to see this again, but I can't because it absolutely scares the crap out of me.

[jeniferrenepatricia]

Posted: 5/20/08 at 3:07am

I think that Toni Collette is wonderful- I have been following her career for many years. "The Sixth Sense" was a good movie, and the scene in the car gives me the chills every time I watch it.
As for "American Beauty," that is one of my top ten favorite movies. I am a huge Annette Benning fan, and I think that she gave a superb performance in this film. I also enjoyed Kevin Spacey and Thora Birch's performance as well.

CAROLYN: "I see you're smoking pot now. I suppose you think smoking illegal psychotropic substances is a good example to set for our sixteen year-old daughter?!"

LESTER: "You're one to talk, you bloodless, money-grubbing freak."

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 5/20/08 at 3:18am

Count me in--LOVE this film.

[jeniferrenepatricia]

Posted: 5/20/08 at 3:28am

CAROLYN: "I guess I needed "the royal treatment" so to speak..."

[Weez]

Posted: 5/20/08 at 5:16am

I also love 'The Mummy' and dislike 'American Beauty'. I think one's opinion can be summed up by one's reaction to the bag scene. It seems most people were taken in by the faux-profundity. Me, I just laughed my ass off and didn't find the rest of the film any less pretentious.

I do like 'The Sixth Sense'. And I didn't dislike 'The Village', Bryce Dallas Howard was wonderful. I kinda want to hate her for being so great, but I can't.

[BWF]

Posted: 5/20/08 at 6:12am

I, too, loved Sixth Sense. It had everything I look for in a film, on a scale of ten I would give it nine and a half.

The Village however, I didn't like. I found it to be very disturbing on many levels, and a metophor for life in that nothing is as it seems.