Sight, smell, touch, sound, taste, ...

Rating: 8/10 (16 September 2011)

The rampant notion that horror means something that makes you pee your pants is grossly misinterpreted. Horror does not necessarily mean ghosts, possessions or exorcisms. Horror is a feeling that eats you from inside and conveys that something is extremely wrong. It doesn't need to make you jump in your seat. It is meant to last long after you are done with the movie; an unpleasant memento you carry with you. Horror exploits your worst fears. It frightens you of dark corners, unknown noises and invisible things behind your back. This is also what The Sixth Sense does.
The movie begins on a rather happy note. Dr. Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) is a content man. He is married to the woman he loves, is a reputed child psychologist and has won the Mayor's citation for professional excellence. The happiness doesn't last. An old patient shows up; a man the doctor had failed. He is scared, angry and troubled. Before the doctor can reason with him, the man shoots him and blows his own brains out. Next fall. The doctor is sitting on a bench, overlooking a child - his next patient. It is the second time he is handling such a case. Having failed the first time, he believes he will be forgiven for his past mistakes if he gets this one right. This is his chance at redemption.
However, the kid, Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment) steals the show. The movie is centered around him and his problem in life. Everyone has a predictable reaction, one of disbelief. His mother, the doctor, and other children - everyone is skeptical. At a tender age, with his frightening inconvenience (the trailers reveal what it is. I won't. It would be an injustice), Cole is cast alone into the horrifying world, especially so for him. Harry Osment plays this role sublimely. You can notice fear in his prepubescent feminine voice, in his movements and on his face. Osment gives one of the best child-performances I have seen. His acting is nonchalant, yet brilliant. He even outdoes Bruce Willis with his performance, something that is truly commendable.
Bruce Willis looks pale in comparison to Osment. This isn't anything wrong with his acting, but it just appears feeble. He makes a good child psychologist and Cole's only companion, along with dealing his own troubled married life. But he does seem out of place at times in a non- action movie. Maybe we have grown just too accustomed to seeing him save the world as John McClane.
The movie has been shot in dim light, which speaks of the gloom and melancholiness prevalent in the film. The foreboding atmosphere is one of the factors adding to the horrors of this film. The tension too has been built up really well. It grips you, engulfs you, before shocking you.
Relationships have been portrayed in a beautiful manner. The mother-son relation between Cole and his mother is touching. She does her best to make Cole lead a normal life. Yet at times, she loses control, skeptical and tired of Cole's problem. Cole doesn't bother her with it. Without a father, he understands the situation they are in and the difficulties their two-member family is facing. He does not want to add to it.
The relationship between Dr. Crowe and wife too plays an important role. Initially things are good, but as Dr. Crowe gets overwhelmed with his new case, they begin drifting apart, or so it seems. He tries bringing it back together but fails repeatedly. She does not talk to him, celebrates their anniversary alone and also seems to be seeing a new guy, with Dr. Crowe watching all this helplessly. Watch over this closely, for the end to be even more rewarding.
However, easily the most effective relationship is that between Dr. Crowe and Cole; the former a middle-aged man, the latter just an innocent child. The contrast between them is clearly visible through a single dialogue exchange:
Dr. Crowe: You are not a freak. Okay? Don't you believe anybody that tries to convince you of that. That's bullshit. You don't have to go through your life believing that. Okay? Cole: You said the 'S' word.
Yet, he is Cole's only hope, the only person who even tries to understand him. Despite his troubled married life, he gives attention to Cole. And that is what is so wonderful about it. It can be best summed up in the words of Cole himself, when he says with tears in his blue eyes 'Don't fail me. Don't give up. You're the only one who can help me. I know it.'
The build-up of the movie is thoroughly gripping. Though it appears to be proceeding rather slowly, it adds to the depth of the film, letting you ponder as it moves. The film seems rather hurriedly wrapped up towards the latter part. But the absolute end is sheer genius. The Sixth Sense has given birth to one of the most iconic endings ever in Hollywood. That is the cherry on the cake.