[8]

A young boy who can see and hear dead people confides in a child psychologist who comes to believe the boy’s curse is a gift. The strength of The Sixth Sense lies most prominently in the scenes between Toni Collette and Haley Joel Osment. I’m hard-pressed to think of another on-screen mother/son relationship that is more realistic or affecting. Their final scene together, where they are sitting in traffic, is by itself, a masterpiece — probably one of the best single scenes of all time. Both actors’ Oscar nominations were extremely well deserved. Bruce Willis also has some very good moments in the film as the pyschologist, and writer/director M. Night Shyamalan shows impressive talent staging scenes, creating atmosphere, and building suspense. Unfortunately, my emotional investment in The Sixth Sense unravels just before the end, when Shyamalan throws in a show-offy plot twist that most people can see coming a mile away. It’s a masturbatory exercise on Shyamalan’s part, and it cheapens the resolution of an otherwise well-written and well-directed psychological thriller.

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture, Director, Supporting Actor (Osment), Supporting Actress (Collette), Original Screenplay, Film Editing