Performances, performances, performances

Rating: 8/10 (20 July 2000)

This isn't really a spoiler, but I wouldn't read it if you have not seen the film anyway.
I think this movie worked on so many levels that it would have to be called "layered". Many leave the theater in awe of the GIANT plot twist, obviously, but that seems to only be the icing on an already richly sweet cake.
Almost everyone agrees that the movie was a whole entity before its shocking conclusion surprised them. I've never seen a plot twister that relied so little on it's "big secret". Perhaps that is part of the reason that so few guessed the ending before it materialized; the audience was so enthralled by the drama, suspense, and downright eerieness of the film that the notion that the wool was being pulled over their eyes simply did not occur to them. This is what made the ending so shocking and incredible.
However, a plot twist, in the end, is really just a gimmick. The layers that made the film so complete were plentiful. The tone and pacing of the film were appropriate, the directing was obviously focused, and the performances were stupendous. Truly stupendous.
Toni Nicolette: touching. Donnie Walberg: unsettling. Haley Joel Osment: inspiring.
Hollywood loves to manufacture its child stars and milk whatever attention they can out of their cute faces. Too often young stars are credited with undue respect. It is seen to be incredible for a child to pull off an emotionally complex role.
Haley Joel Osment did not simply "pull it off". He did not merely "portray" a character. He made a character real. He made us all feel as terrified and as alone and helpless as a boy so cursed would. I was moved.
Donnie Walberg's part was small, but the madness in his face cast a shadow over every moment that followed it. It prompted me once again to ask why his brother receives so much more work than he.
Finally, Toni Nicolette. I had no idea the level at which her talent reaches. Now I do. I will watch her in the future.
Overall? 8 out of 10