A Milestone for Psychological Thrillers and a Masterpiece of Suspense and Drama ...

Rating: 10/10 (13 February 2011)

The amazing climax of the 90's have enriched our cinematic knowledge with extraordinary movies, from the immersion into a parallel universe named "The Matrix" and the unforgettable heart-breaking "Green Mile", to the powerful social commentary of the pre-millennium consumerist society in "American Beauty" and "Fight Club", not to mention the resuscitation of the legendary "Star Wars" saga  and still, only one movie managed to get so rapidly and deeply rooted in Pop-Culture: M. Night Shamalayan's "The Sixth Sense", one of the most memorable movies of the last 15 years.
What makes this achievement even more remarkable is that "The Sixth Sense" didn't use breakthrough visual effects contrarily to its contemporary films. It had quite a minimal cast, and a very sober directing, yet it managed to create a particular atmosphere that seemed to belong only to this new classic. I don't think any other horror film reached such a level of originality since the 1970's. Indeed "The Sixth Sense" creates the reminiscent feeling of Friedkin's "Exorcist" and seems to remind us how horror is one of the most likely movie genre to create unforgettable films, when handled correctly. I mention the 70's as the decade that preceded the slasher era which made gore so ordinary and laughable it killed all the purpose of a horror film, which is all about a psychological dosage of expectations and thrills. And this dosage works in "The Sixth Sense" : there's a whole feeling that something is going to happen, yet it takes its time, time for us to get into those characters, to discover Dr. Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) the no-emotion child psychologist, and Cole Sear, the enigmatic kid who inherited a strange power, a sixth sense that looks more like a doom than a gift. The movie is renowned for a revelation featured in one of the most iconic quotes of the last 20 years, thus revealing this power is not necessarily ruining the premise of the film, but anyway, I will focus on the cinematic achievement aspect responsible of the extraordinary rebirth of the horror classic genre. And again, I think the comparison with "The Exorcist" is relevant since the movie approaches the genre with a long build-up in an ordinary family house setting, which gives enough time to approach the characters and their background, so we can identify with them. And step by step, the supernatural elements are patiently introduced, with an efficient timeliness, leading us to an unforgettable climax.
The supernatural elements are perfectly handled thanks to the amazing Oscar-worthy performances of Haley Joel Osment, as Cole Sear, the kid who's not a kind of know-it-all smart kid or a whining victim, but an innocent doomed little boy, Toni Collette as Lynn, the supportive mother who suffers from the torments of despair and powerlessness to help her little boy and her struggle to bring back some ounce of normality in Coles 'life is particularly heartbreaking. The mother and son relationship is the heart of the film when the dorsal spine is Dr. Malcolm Crowe's back-story with Bruce Willis in one of his most underrated out-of-character performances as a mysterious doctor who tries to help and assist Cole in this painful experience, which seems to be a two-ways therapy inhabited by a profound will of redemption. Carrying the whole narrative structure of the film, Willis' job looks like a psychological investigation, that gives a movie a sort of noir feeling and the film is an intricate puzzle that respects the audience's intelligence by letting enough hints to guide us to the climax but not obvious enough to decrease the sensational aspect of the ending. The last minutes, the last ten minutes of the film are so emotionally rewarding that you can't help but feel like watching it a second time. It's one of the few films where the experience of the first viewing is so harrowing you can't perceive yet the intelligence and cleverness of the script, only after a second viewing.
The script is certainly the strongest element of the film, too often overlooked in other horror movies, here it works because of the realism of the dialogs and the directing that makes the story scarily believable. The film would never have been so memorable if it only relied on special effects and cinematography: the viewer can be fooled by what he sees, but fooling him with words, with verbal interactions, with actions, looks and silences is a challenge that have been successfully achieved by talented directors like the master Hitchcock ("Psycho" being the most obvious example) but the director was not Hitchcock, M. Night Shamalayan was a young débutant who would never have been thought to make a movie so iconic and so rapidly. Yet, if it didn't win the Best Picture Oscar, it definitely was the movie that impacted the viewers the most. No wonder "The Sixth Sense" made it in AFI's Top 100, as a recognition of the significance of the film and the revolutionary aspect it had on cinematic storytelling by paving the way for movies with long build-up and spectacular conclusions, an impact, even the director could not match it with his later films.
"The Sixth Sense" is a heart-pounding thriller like any other one has been made before. But don't expect countless deaths or disturbing gore, instead you'll have an extraordinary atmosphere, amazing performances and an intelligent script. Expect another viewing, expect some scary moments and some deeply emotional ones, and if you don't say a big "Wow" at the end, either this film has been spoiled for you, either you're one of the most exceptionally intelligent people that doesn't get fooled by little cinematic hints. In both case, it's unfortunate without prevent you though from enjoyment, because "The Sixth Sense" still works on the emotional level, thanks to the amazing performances of Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment and Toni Collette.