The Sixth Sense (1999)

[Ricardo C]

Title: The Sixth Sense

Tagline: Not every gift is a blessing.

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Drama

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Cast: Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette, Olivia Williams, Donnie Wahlberg, Mischa Barton, Trevor Morgan, Glenn Fitzgerald, Bruce Norris, Angelica Page, Greg Wood, M. Night Shyamalan, Peter Anthony Tambakis, Jeffrey Zubernis, Lisa Summerour, Samia Shoaib, Janis Dardaris, Sarah Ripard, KaDee Strickland, Kate Kearney-Patch, Nico Woulard, Keith Woulard, Patrick McDade, Jose L. Rodriguez, Firdous Bamji, Hayden Saunier, Neill Hartley, Heidi Fischer, Michael J. Lyons, Samantha Fitzpatrick, Holly Cross Vagley, Marilyn Shanok, Carol Nielson, Jodi Dawson, Tony Michael Donnelly, Ronnie Lea, Carlos Xavier Lopez, Gino Inverso, Ellen Sheppard, Tom McLaughlin, Candy Aston-Dennis, Gina Allegro, Bob Bowersox, Matt Casale, Kym Cohen, Colleen June McQuaide, Jonathan Nation, Sean Oliver, Alison Robertson

Release: 1999-08-06

Runtime: 107

Plot: Following an unexpected tragedy, a child psychologist named Malcolm Crowe meets an nine year old boy named Cole Sear, who is hiding a dark secret.

Yeah, I know, the movie's been discussed to death, BUT since there are no threads on it in the Movies section, why not revisit it for a while?

I know this is not a new film, but since I've only seen it twice, it is technically new to me, so try not to laugh :p)

In a nutshell, it was just as great as I remembered it, and I probably love it even more now. However, I also noticed the plot holes that I ignored the first time around, which I would like to bring up and see if my explanations makes sense to you guys, or if anyone has other explanations, I'd love to hear them as well.

How does Malcolm become aware of Cole? It's one thing to observe someone from afar, but his notes contained his name and his case history.

I can think of two possibilities here: One, since it seems like the ghosts are drawn to Cole, and have their ways to find him, perhaps knowledge of Cole's case simply came to Malcolm. This would imply the hand of God (or another higher power) at work, guiding the ghosts towards the person that can help them move on from the realm of the living.

The second explanation (and perhaps the correct one, as it is less complicated) is that since "they see what they want to see", Malcolm has simply kept on going to his office, unaware of the fact that someone else has taken over his caseload. One day, he comes in and finds Cole's file, and the similarities between Cole and Vincent make him take the case.

How can Malcolm believe that his marriage is simply going through a rough patch? Hasn't he noticed his wife hasn't said a word to him in months, or that she only cooks for one? This would be plausible if only a few days went by between Malcolm's death and his meeting with Cole, but come on...

For this one, I have to go back to "they see what they want to see". Malcolm doesn't remember passing away, nor does he remember his funeral. Perhaps time and space are hazy for shell-shocked ghosts like him. In his mind, maybe it HAS only been a few days since Vincent shot him.

What's the deal with the boy with the back of his head blown off? Or with the hanged family?

This, I have no explanations for. The ghosts are supposed to want help from Cole, right? Well, that kid only said "come on, I'll show you where dad keeps his gun" and the hanged family were still hanging in place. These two sequences seem to have been inserted to get a couple cheap scares.

Who's paying Malcolm? Who made the appointment for him to see Cole? Why doesn't his mom ever wanna talk to her son's psychologist?

I'll chalk up Malcolm's seemingly pro-bono work to his altered perception of reality. As for who made the appointment, I'm guessing Cole's mom simply called up whoever took over Malcolm's office. The one thing that bugs me is why Cole's mom seems so uninteredted in talking to her son's therapist. I know they have to find ways to prevent the possibility of having Malcolm interact with anyone else, but this should have been addressed, perhaps by showing her leave a message in the doctor's answering machine.

Any ideas?

 

[Holadem]

Any ideas?

No

Actually, what makes you think that Cole (or her mom) ever had any appointment with a shrink?

This movie that I was highly anticipating was released while I was out of the country - which shielded me from even knowing that the ending was a shocker. I went to the theater a couple a days after my return, completely unawares... one of the best theatrical experiences of my life.

--
Holadem

 

[Ricardo C]

Same here I hadn't even seen a preview when my friend insisted that I see the film. "It's a ghost story, you'll like it" was all he said. I was very grateful afterwards

As for your question, Malcolm says to Cole "I'm Dr. Malcolm Crowe. We were supposed to meet today, but I missed our appointment. Sorry" when they meet in the church.

 

[Yee-Ming]

I write it all off to "selective memory" on the part of Malcolm, i.e. he doesn't remember details like who fixes appointments, because he doesn't need/want to. Think of it as him being in a semi-dream state, lucid at times when he thinks he's having a fight with his wife (e.g. the anniversary dinner at the restaurant), otherwise it's all a blur which he doesn't think much about.

IIRC, when I watched it, I had a vague recollection that there was a "twist" to it, but I wasn't thinking about it as I watched and was nicely "shocked" by the twist.

My sister, on the other hand, claims she figured it out the moment Cole said "Sometimes they don't even know they're dead" to Malcolm.

 

[Simon Massey]

The one thing that bugs me is why Cole's mom seems so uninterested in talking to her son's therapist.

This is why I took it that she never arranged for a therapist, thats just what you are supposed to think the first time round.

I love this film as well, mainly due to the characters and performances than the story which does have a lot of unanswered questions and possible plotholes.

 

[Tim Glover]

Nice 4 year review Ricardo. I too, haven't seen this since in a while. I just glanced at the Vista Series release. This thread has made me want to watch it again.

The Sixth Sense is one of my top 20 movies of all time.

 

[Gregg Shiu]

I loved the movie the first time even though I knew the ending. For those of you who, unbelievably, haven't seen it yet, I'll put this in spoilers. My spanish teacher was talking about it in class and tried not to ruin it for us, but she said, and I'm fucking quoting:

El doctor es muerto.

Right after, she proceeded to wink at the Latino kids in the class, as if this was an inside joke or something which only they understood. I don't know what the hell was going on in her mind when she was saying this, as it was an advanced Spanish class. The elicited groans on nearly half the class' faces only caused her to have this glazed look in her eyes. But, anyways, what was I saying? Oh yes, the movie is good. Another one I'd recommend along similar lines is The Others. THANK GOD that ending wasn't ruined at all for me.

 

[Cagri]

Great movie. I watch it once in about every 6 months and each time I remember the shock I felt when I realised Malcolm was dead (at the same time when he himself did). I was told by a friend that the film had a surprise ending but I didn't try to find out during the film and I'm glad I had the chance to experience that little shock

It's a flawless film with the proposal "They see what they want to see"

What's the deal with the boy with the back of his head blown off? Or with the hanged family?

The boy isn't aware he's dead. That's the help he needs to get, IMO. The hanged family may also have something bothering them, maybe they want people to acknowledge that the school building was a place where they hang innocent people. Time isn't an issue for them, so they may still be there another 200 years. Or maybe they were just used to give the scene a stronger affect as you said.

I can't believe Shamalayan is the same person who wrote/directed the other 2 films, namely Unbreakable and Signs which were very very bad...

 

[Dean Kousoulas]

Shamalayan is becoming a love/hate director with me. With 6th Sense, it's just the questions Ricardo brought up that made me dislike the movie. For example, in one scene, Malcolm is sitting with Cole's mother in the living room, waiting for Cole to come home. Now, #1 how did Malcolm get inside, and #2 why are they sitting across from each other but don't say a word or even look at one another?

Again with Signs, why would the aliens invade Earth if they knew our planet was mostly all water? You could argue that the film isn't really about an alien invasion then it is with a man finding his faith in God, but you really can't overlook something like that. I guess we have to go back to Sharon Stone's quote in Sphere when they brought up the idea of a dumb alien..."Well there's gotta be some".

 

[Cagri]

Now, #1 how did Malcolm get inside, and #2 why are they sitting across from each other but don't say a word or even look at one another?

Malcolm is dead, so he doesn't have to knock the door and get in, he may have just started his day there, in the room on the chair. As he is only a soul, as long as he wants to be there, he is there.

Cole's mother obviously doesn't see him. Malcolm may or may not see her at that moment, we do not know that, but Malcolm just doesn't speak to her for that short moment.

Signs is a different story.

 

[Dan Rudolph]

In the case of Signs, I suspect the aliens plot isn't intended to make sense. It's built out of various wackjob theories and sci-fi cliches. Perhaps there was concern that it would become the focus of the movie if handled differently.

 

[Cagri]

In the case of Signs, I suspect the aliens plot isn't intended to make sense.

Yes, maybe it isn't. But still, it is so ridiculous that it totally destroys the film for me. The aliens come to the world for an invasion with a technology which is a couple of centuries ahead of us yet don't even think about putting a diving suit on ( I am assuming that they'd forgotten to bring their own stuff in the rush ). Oh, they must have forgotten to bring weapons too. It doesn't fit the genre it supposedly belongs to IMO. If it was telling what it does in a plot something like Mars Attacks's, it could be fine.

 

[Holadem]

Shamalayan is becoming a love/hate director with me. With 6th Sense, it's just the questions Ricardo brought up that made me dislike the movie. For example, in one scene, Malcolm is sitting with Cole's mother in the living room, waiting for Cole to come home. Now, #1 how did Malcolm get inside, and #2 why are they sitting across from each other but don't say a word or even look at one another?

Is this a joke?!

--
Holadem

 

[Darren Haycock]

Not to get off topic, but what does IIRC mean? I see this all over but I don't know what it stands for.

I've loved all of Shyamalan's movies too. He's got a great style.

 

[JustinCleveland]

Yeah, but The Others wasn't NEARLY as good as Sixth Sense.

I was reading a column by a writer who was keeping a secret , it was about 2 months after the movie had come out, and I was too busy to see it right away, and he started spewing off... I'll tell you that it was earth all along, it was the (whoever) who shot JR, and Bruce Willis is dead.

About half-way through the movie, I remembered that quote. Damn it all.

 

[Holadem]

IIRC = If I Remember Correctly

Some idiot told me about Empire Strikes Back long before I got around to seeing it.

--
Holadem

 

[Chet_F]

"I can't believe Shamalayan is the same person who wrote/directed the other 2 films, namely Unbreakable and Signs which were very very bad... "

Not to go off topic but I have to disagree. Unbreakable did have it's flaws but Signs was simply amazing. I felt the same way I did when seeing the ending of Signs. Mr. Shamalayan has the uncanny ability to build up a story and then WHAM you get hit with this moment of clarity or lucidity when everything comes together. Hard to explain but only one or two other writers have ever been able to do this. The only other movies I can think of that have had that same type of ending would be:
The Usual Supects and The Shawshank Redemption

or maybe more that I can't think of presently.

Any other recomendations for movies that have endings like these types of movies?

Chet

 

[Chet_F]

"Again with Signs, why would the aliens invade Earth if they knew our planet was mostly all water?"

This can easily be explained. Is it not possible that we were the only planet that had the resources they needed or maybe we were just lucky enough to be the closest planet. I guess when your planet is running out of food a little water is not going to deter you. You either invade Earth or DIE of hunger.

That's really on the bottom of my list when it comes to the plot holes for Signs. Some have already mentioned a few of them, i.e. wet suits, where were their weapons...although they could have just been the 'drones' that served as the Smart Aliens scavengers. A great deal of unanswered questions in Signs but still one of the best in my book.

 

[Joel C]

Maybe it was something specific about Earth's water that did it?