st. Bruce Willis, Toni Colette, Haley Joel Osment
I prepared myself for The Sixth Sense by dining in my favourite Thai Restaurant. I love the smell of coriander in the morning. The restaurant is like a church, a sanctuary, where I go to prepare myself for the journey to suburbia. Sadly it is only in the suburbs where I can watch a movie on large screen, in the city the screens are barely big enough for a classroom.The snack bar at the cinema looked sadly uninviting after my dinner, and what sweety goodness could they have that could compare to the deep fried ice cream I just ate? I did have a pack of Allen's jubes (reject all cheap imitations) in my pocket, just in case I was tempted. I love guessing the colours when I eat them in the dark.
For those people who have been oblivious to the advertisements for this movie here is the story. Bruce Willis is a child psychologist who takes on the case of a disturbed nine-year-old boy (Haley Joel Osment). The boy, who lives with his caring and concerned mother (Toni Colette), confesses to Bruce that he can see dead people. He can see them everywhere, all the time, and they speak to him. Bruce is skeptical, but then believes the boy and tries to work out how to help him.
The boy is outstanding, he makes the children from The Village of the Damned seem well adjusted. He deserves an Oscar for his performance which is far superior to the last child that won (Anna Paquin in The Piano), or even most adult performances, like anything Tom Hanks has done that is supposedly Oscar worthy, or even Jack Nicholson who hardly extends himself in recent years. Of course the Oscars being as political as they are, and knowing their disdain for the horror genre (how did Anthony Hopkins win for Silence of the Lambs?), will probably overlook him in favour of some aging star who they never bothered rewarding at their prime. Example? Al Pacino. An Oscar for Scent of a Woman was ludicrous, what about Dog Day Afternoon, Serpico, Scarface and any number of dynamic performances he has produced.
Toni Collette is also good as the loving mother who just can't understand what is happening to her child. This film can only help her career as a dramatic actor. It would have been nice to see Toni Collette in Bruce's role. Not enough women get the lead in movies that aren't aimed at the female demographic. Jodie Foster in Silence of the Lambs, Geena Davis in The Long Kiss Goodnight and Mira Sorvino in the Replacement Killers do a fantastic job in roles most often played by men. And Bruce is...Bruce.
I am a sucker for Bruce Willis. The Fifth Element, Twelve Monkeys, Die Hard, Pulp Fiction and Hudson Hawk are worthy acting credits to me and I just ignore films like Armageddon and Mercury Rising. Bruce's roles are generally that of a cop having relationship problems, and in a radical change of pace, in this film he is a psychologist with relationship problems. Bruce's ambivalent, near expressionless acting style works quite well here since he is meant to be detached because of personal problems. You actually believe that he cares about the people in his life. But if you aren't fond of Bruce's lack of range you may just find him irritating.
My favourite Brucism (from all his films) is when he turns his head to the side and pulls a daft expression, which he generally does this when firing a gun. See the video case of Striking Distance for a classic example of this pose. I was very excited when he pulled that pose in this film without a gun. Talk about versatility. And I am always amazed when he can go a whole film without shooting or punching anyone.
While watching the film I was trying to decide if it was boringly slow or, atmospherically slow. Because I was in two minds I was surprised by the ending (as was most of the audience going by the volume of the 'aaaahh' that erupted at the critical point). When the twist is revealed and you reflect on what has transpired it seems so obvious, even if it does leave a lot of unanswered questions. The ending is not telegraphed, the clues are there but not as blatantly presented as usual. How dare Hollywood treat the audience with respect. It is probably worth seeing the film again knowing the ending, just to see how cleverly the writer/director handles it.
I was worried when the film started, the opening credits are dull, dull, dull. White text on a black screen? Please no. Why can't filmmakers understand that credits where nothing happens are unimaginative and a waste of screen time. The opening credits to The Fugitive movie are a shining example of the art. In The Sixth Sense the opening scene where we find out how wonderful Bruce is, is also painful. He is compared to Dr Seuss! Surely there is a better way to establish Bruce's character than the heavy handedness on display here. In contrast the scene introducing the boy is impressive, no dialogue, but just by watching him you can tell he has serious issues. Despite the dubious start, screen time is not wasted in this film with pointless subplots, the cast is small and even when you think a plotline is a waste of time, the film's ending justifies it.
You want to know about the horror? Ask the guy sitting behind me who kept screaming throughout the movie. He found it quite terrifying and there were scenes where virtually everyone in the cinema jumped out of the seats. Even though I complain the film is slow, it certainly is a spooky film.
After the extreme boredom that was The Haunting, The Sixth Sense was a welcome relief, not as astounding as the hype claims but certainly a competent, interesting and original thriller (despite some minor continuity lapses). Look out for the writer/director making a guest appearance at the hospital.
sebastian niemand
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