An everyman film - which is why people don't get it

Rating: 8/10 (28 June 2008)

This is not one of the classic movies of all time - Sixth Sense. It still ranks as one of MNS best efforts for me because of what it's not. It's not a typical Hollywood disaster film, and I think that's where the VAST majority of reviewers here miss the boat. This is an everyman film.
What do I mean by that? Simple. Elliot Moore (Mark Wahlberg) is a goof. He's still a kid at heart, in love with his wife, and a nerd. He's just a guy trying to deal with a situation that he's not used to, being thrust into a leadership role that he's not comfortable with, and trying to survive. Alma Moore (Zooey Deschanel) hasn't quite grown up yet either. She's not sure if she's really married to the right guy, and she's not someone that is comfortable outside of her little circle.
So now you've got two quite ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. How do they react? How do they survive? That's what makes this such a compelling and thoughtful film. Watching Elliot and Alma try to grow beyond the empty and facile people they started as - actually becoming more than they were, such that by the end of the movie you know that they're now mature - that's the point. You don't have to start with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie to have a husband and wife that can become heroes and grow beyond themselves.
Many people have commented the rationale behind the disaster is implausible. That's hubris talking - we don't control nature. While it at this point seems unlikely, it is potentially possible for this to occur. Mother Nature is quite capable of wiping out the dominant species on the planet - just ask the dinosaurs.