One of the most poignantly-told ghost stories of all time.

Rating: 10/10 (22 January 2010)

My Take: Nuanced and subtly creepy, and oftentimes heartbreaking and sad. A perfect showcase of M. Night Shymalan's unique storytelling talents.
Haters call M. Night Shymalan the "one-hit wonder" so aggressively that they seem to forget just how effective that "one-hit" was. His first real big hit (but not his first film), THE SIXTH SENSE is a perfect introduction to the unique and rarely seen (in Hollywood)) storytelling talents of M. Night Shymalan, something that wasn't appreciated for too long. But I doubt anyone will disagree that THE SIXTH SENSE is a triumph of storytelling; a ghost story told in a most original and subtle way and achieves to sustain our interest without much use of heavy effects. But it's actually more than just another well-crafted ghost story, It's also actually an interesting drama grounded in semi-supernatural elements.
Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) is a gifted psychologist; his friends and his wife (Olivia Williams) thinks his talents is a gift, but he on the other hand considers it a curse due to a failure to cure a kid in the past that since has haunted him. Meanwhile, Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment, a career-making performance) is a quiet, problematic boy. He gets picked on by his bully classmates and his mom (Toni Collette) isn't exactly comfortable when he isn't telling her what's wrong. And you thought seeing dead people was tough! The film says ghost see only what they want to see. So that doesn't make them any less different from the living. Here, Cole sees his ability to see and communicate with folks from the other side as a curse; something he wished he never had. But when he discovers how to wrest control of it, he starts to see what it really is: A gift in disguise. This plays a very strong part with the film's still shocking ending (a gimmick Shymalan would use in his later films), but actually plays (among with other issues) throughout the films. THE SIXTH SENSE is more than just a well-crafted genre picture; Shymalan uses it as means to tell a story dealing with some personal issues.
Most will remember THE SIXTH SENSE as for its shocker of an ending, a great example of a true and shocking payoff that provides the perfect closure to a perfect film. But the pleasures of THE SIXTH SENSE doesn't begin and end there. The relevant issues tackled throughout the film (more prominently, family issues like divorce, mid-life crises and rejection) is unnerving just as some of the film's "jump-from-your-seat" moments are subtly creepy. But among the things that truly grabbed me about THE SIXTH SENSE is it's true emotions. Haters can call Shyamalan whatever they want, but he knows a thing or two about emotions. The scene where Cole talks to his mom about how he gets frequent "visits" from grandma starts out creepy, but really is sad and heartfelt, and Shymalan doesn't make use of any faux emotions whatsoever; just the simplicity of the staging of the scene. Then there's the ending (which I will not reveal for the sake of the small number of people who have not seen it or don't remember it), which was intended to shock the audience. But come to look at it, I realized just how sad and heartbreaking it really is.
The setup for his later films would be similar to THE SIXTH SENSE, from the nuanced slow-burn setup paid off by a shocker ending. But like THE SIXTH SENSE, Shymalan's later films have an interesting story told in a most unique way not seen in most typical Hollywood movies. There's always something to look forward to in his films. Ever since his success with THE SIXTH SENSE, we are introduced to an unqualified talented storyteller; often hated but nevertheless one of the most underrated minds in Hollywood today.
Rating: ***** out of 5.