Clever story with too many holes (SPOILER WARNING)

Rating: 7/10 (13 April 2000)

THIS COMMENT CONTAINS SPOILERS INCLUDING SPECIFIC REFERENCES THAT REVEAL THE ENDING. IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED YOU SEE THE FILM BEFORE READING THIS COMMENT.
It seems most people fall into one of two camps on this film. They either love it or hate it (it would seem that more love it). My sentiments lie with neither camp. This is a fascinating and clever story that is well filmed but poorly crafted. Plot holes abound and Director/Writer M. Night Shyamalan has to fudge all over the place to keep the surprise ending a surprise. In my comments here, I have commented many times on the dangers of writers directing their own work. In almost every case, the director lacks the necessary objectivity to identify and excise plot flaws. In this case they were glaring.
Many questions come to mind. Why was Cole (Haley Joel Osment) afraid of every ghost but Malcolm (Bruce Willis)? Why did every ghost appear in a form that showed how they died except Malcolm? They were all bloody and disfigured; why not Malcolm? Where was the bullet hole in his shirt and the blood? I watched the movie a second time and there were a number of scenes where he had no jacket. He always wore the same shirt, but there was no bullet hole or blood in any scene.
Clearly the biggest question is why it was never cold when Malcolm was in the room except in the very last scene with his wife (Olivia Williams). He was in scenes with Cole's mother (Toni Collette), a restaurant full of people, a theater full of parents, a doctor, and on and on and yet in no scene did anyone seem remotely chilly, no less seeing their breath.
So, I have a fundamental problem calling this a great motion picture. However, it was very well filmed from a technical standpoint and produced some excellent suspense throughout that kept the viewer engaged.
The acting was fair to excellent. Toni Collette was mediocre at best as Cole's mother. She overacted in almost every scene and her chemistry wasn't very good with the boy until the last scene when he told her what her mother said. Likewise, Olivia Williams didn't bowl me over as Malcolm's wife.
Bruce Willis gave a good performance, but he is out of his element playing the sensitive and self doubting type. He always comes across as a bit whiny when he tries to play nice guy parts. His forte is playing the tough, strong courageous type and he would best serve his career by staying with those types of parts.
Finally, there is young Haley Joel Osment as Cole. He gave an excellent performance and was the linchpin that held the whole film together. He was very versatile in his portrayal of various emotions. He handled fear, playfulness, affection and anger with equal aplomb. His physiognomy was right for the part as well, as he looked very nerdy and self conscious, exactly what was needed for the part.
I rated this film a 7/10. It was entertaining and it had real potential, but it had too many flaws to realize it.