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The Sixth Sense is about a boy who has the sixth sense
– he can see dead people. This obviously troubles him and
no one seems to be able to reach him, even his mother, (Toni Collette),
until he meets Malcolm (Bruce Willis), a renown child psychologist.
Malcolm helps this boy, Cole (Haley Joel Osment), and the boy
helps him in the process.
Haley Joel Osment’s performance is hauntingly good. His
cold distant demeanor really convinces us that this is a boy who
sees ghosts. He doesn’t just occasionally see ghosts though
– he sees dead people everyday. They haunt him and sometimes
hurt him. This is one messed up kid. The haunting scenes are frequently
frightening but sometimes a bit overly contrived. I mean seriously,
if these ghosts are still normal people, as we are led to believe,
can’t they approach people in a normal way? Do they have
to appear startlingly and with a sharp crescendo in the music?
Probably not; but it does make it freaky.
What’s fun about The Sixth Sense, though, is always
having an inkling towards knowing what’s going to happen
next, but truly never knowing. Director M. Night Shyamalan is
constantly giving us clues but always keeps us guessing. For example,
we know death is around the corner whenever we see bright red.
The script is clever and strong as a suspense film, but manages
to be much more as well.
I love the solution to what most people would call an insurmountable
psychological problem. Cole learns that he doesn’t need
to be scared or put himself in the role of the victim. He learns
that these ghosts aren’t as dangerous as he would have them
be – despite the fact that he has been hurt by them. Cole
overcomes his fear by, of all things, loving the ghosts! By responding
to their needs, which he realizes they have, he can calm them
down and help them move on.
As supernatural as this film is, it certainly has real practical
application. If we would respond to the needs of others instead
of insisting on in a self-concerned attitude, maybe we will realize
that our problems also aren’t as big as they seem to be.
If Cole can live with ghosts, maybe we can live with each other.
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