Affecting, though it didn't deserve the best picture nomination

Rating: Null/10 (18 April 2000)

First of all, forgive me. I read about the ending before actually seeing the movie. Now, some of you may think that it ruined the film, but it one way, it enhanced it. Now, I tried to figure out the clues to the end, and I was stumped. I just couldn't figure it out.
Anyway, now to the film. This is a supremely effective chiller that is one of the quietest horror films ever (it whispers the scares). This is the first film I've seen with Toni Collette in, and she did impress me (though she didn't deserve her nomination). Her scenes with Haley Joel Osment are minor marvels. Osment deserved all the praise he received for his performance. The subtle shifts in emotion were alone worthy of the nomination. I would have given him the Oscar over Caine (but not over Cruise, Law, or the unnominated Bentley). Bruce Willis is in his 'strong, silent type' mode, but that didn't bother me.
The reason the film didn't deserve it's oscar nomination was because the film wasn't among the five best of the year. There were many far more challenging and powerful films in 1999 (however, had it been another year, I probably would have embraced the nomination). M. Night Shyamalan deserved the praise for his script, but didn't deserve the nomination over Three Kings or The Straight Story. I was surprised that this film didn't get the win for film editing (it was the best of the five, yes-- better than Matrix or Beauty).
This is a film that was a haunting beauty, and I will see it again (and I'll probably buy it too.)