Shyamalan at his very best! I said it, I don't care what people think. Many people claim Unbreakable to be his best film till date, but for me, as much as I love Unbreakable, The Sixth Sense will always remain as the best Shyamalan had to offer.
Good : It's his masterpiece. Shyamalan has never been better. What does it not have? Emotions, drama, character development, storytelling, great writing + directing, all of it. Willis does a really good job. It is perhaps the first time I saw him in a role like this, one of the best examples of casting against type. The arc of the child played by Osment and that of Willis have been given full justice. Seeing them help each other overcome their problems and fears in the way they did was very good. There are some emotional moments which hit the right notes, all because we have known the characters very well. We get a happy ending for the kid, and while expecting something similar for Willis, we get the infamous twist. The first time I watched it, I was blown away. It feels kind of obvious having it watched so many times now, but man was it incredible! Bruce was dead all the time. This made me analyze some parts. Bruce died with the bullet on his abdomen, and in a scene where he is getting out of a flower shop seeing his wife with another guy, he is clutching the exact place where he was hit. And in every scene after he was shot, his interactions with his wife feel and are obviously him talking to her, but her talking to herself. For a first few views, it is unnoticeable. And, it doesn't even feel that way. Also, Willis is not interacting with physical object. What I thought of a plot hole in the first few viewings were actually genius writing and directing. And I would also like to talk about the horror aspect. It's something I call genuine horror. There are creepy stuff going on and you don't know what is actually happening. It's not a horror movie but has got the elements perfectly. And of all the emotional parts, the final moments after the twist hit perfectly. I wonder why this wasn't an Oscar worthy film.
Bad : Not necessarily bad about the film. But Shyamalan was called the next Spielberg after this film. His next great film was Unbreakable, followed by Split. Split was good, but nowhere near the former two, which was leaps and bounds better than Signs and Glass. And besides these, I don't even want to name the rest of his disasters. I still think he can make real good films, but comparing most of his films, I sadly feel that he was no Spielberg but just a one hit wonder.
Conclusion : It's the greatest Shyamalam film ever. Unbreakable is a close second. Those who think Shyamalan didn't have any potential must watch this. It is just that Shyamalan must have stayed this way. Also, any thriller fans out there? Watch this immediately, if you haven't watched it.
Rating.
Score : absolute 10/10
Grade : A+
26 out of 31 found this helpful