Essay, Research Paper: The Sixth Sense

The Sixth Sense
Many movies today do not have plots. They consist of computer-generated images, poor acting due to the non-realistic aspects of the movies, and relatively bad overall story lines. This is mostly due to the fact that the director is more concerned with the special effects. This can be seen in the movie Star Wars: Episode One: The Phantom Menace. Its story line was weak, and the acting was poor due to the fact that most of it was special effects. Don't get me wrong, the special effects were amazing, and not to mention that I'm a big Star Wars fan, but in lieu of the original Star Wars Trilogy, George Lucas in my honest opinion made a mockery of Star Wars. Though most films made today are very much like George Lucas's latest creation, there are a few movies that actually do have plots, good acting, and leaves people on the edge of their seats waiting for something to surprise them. These movies, unlike the movie Star Wars: Episode One: The Phantom Menace, are filled with things to keep the audiences attention other than the special effects. They have such things like a plot, good actors, and something else that makes the movie different from the others. Take as an example the movie directed by M. Night Shyamalan, The Sixth Sense. The Sixth Sense involves an intricate plot, great acting, and a truly surprising ending.
The plot of a movie in today's movie market is normally broadcast to the world through an immense amount of advertising. Whether it is through television commercials, radio commercials, or newspaper articles before the movie comes out, one can normally figure out the story before you see it. This does not hold true in the case of The Sixth Sense. I witnessed nearly all of the various commercials for the movie, and the closest thing to revealing the story was when on a television commercial Cole Sear (played by Haley Joel Osment) whispers to Dr. Malcolm Crowe (played by Bruce Willis), " I see dead people". That gave people the idea of the movie, but it did not give the viewers enough to figure out the entire story. The plot consisted of a lot more than a little kid seeing dead people. It also included a doctor patient confrontation between Dr. Crowe and one of the patients he failed to cure, marriage problems between Dr. Crowe and his wife, and many other twists and turns. A story with a plot is very hard to find these days, but the plot in The Sixth Sense is one that will keep you guessing what will happen next.
Acting in movies is a large, as a matter of fact, the largest aspect of any movie. Without the actors, there is no movie. The actors make or break the movies that they are in. The actors in The Sixth Sense are absolutely incredible. Bruce Willis plays the role of an accomplished child psychologist named Dr. Malcolm Crowe. In the beginning of the movie, he is celebrating with his wife because he had just received an award for his good work in his field from the city of Philadelphia. Willis truly makes the viewer believe that he is Malcolm Crowe, not the same person was in movies like Armageddon, the Die Hard Trilogy, and Death Becomes Her. Bruce Willis' performance was very convincing, and the scary part about the whole move is that he was not even the best actor in the film. That award belongs to the eleven year old Haley Joel Osment. Osment played the role of a troubled eight-year-old boy named Cole Sear. Cole's "gift" was that he could see dead people. Osment makes everybody believe that he really sees dead people. It is absolutely amazing to watch him as ghosts appear in front of him or hanging by a noose. He was absolutely terrified. Willis and Osment did the best job of the summer portraying their roles. Their acting makes The Sixth Sense the best movie of the summer.
Possibly the single thing that makes this movie the best movie of the summer is the surprise ending. The entire movie had me thinking that the ending would be a happy, lovey-dovey, everything resolved type ending. When the ending occurs, I was totally thrown for a loop. I was shocked when I realized that there was no way that I could have figured out that the movie would end that way. I was absolutely amazed with the skill that was used in keeping me, as well as the rest of the audience, totally in the dark. The director definitely did a tremendous job with the story, not letting the audience nor myself know what happens to Dr. Crowe.
The Sixth Sense, in my humble opinion, is the best movie of the summer. The plot is ten times better than any of the special effects movies that were released in the summer. Though it drags sometimes, it always seems to pick up better than before. If you are looking for a movie in which the actors really believe that they are who they are portraying, then The Sixth Sense is the movie to see. Osment had me convinced that he really could talk to dead people, and that it was not just some schizophrenic kid. The plot was good, the acting was great, and the surprise ending topped it all off. It is an ending that must be seen to get the real effect of the movie. No other movie this summer puts all of those ingredients into one movie like The Sixth Sense. It has my vote for the best movie of the year.