Creepy and Chilling Your Senses
Main Cast: Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette, Olivia Williams
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Quietly and subtly, the themes and images of this film bring about a slow feeling of dread as the plot unfolds. That plot centers on Doctor Malcolm Crowe (Willis), a child psychologist who is jarred out of his normal routine by a former patient who commits suicide in Crowe’s home. A few months later he meets Cole Sear (Osment), a troubled child who compels the doctor to delve into the kid’s psyche and try to bring about a happy ending, perhaps to compensate (or to balance) any number of failures that the doctor had in the past.
As Crowe wrestles with his new patient’s problems he must come to grips with a sudden chill in his relationship with his wife (Williams). The plot is revealed slowly, with a few fade-outs to new locations, but generally follows the doctor as he tries to deal with everything going on around him. Finally the young Sear reveals his “gift” in a gripping scene of understated wonder.
As with all of Shyamalan’s films there is a twist at the end, and I will say nothing of it other than it is a doozy. It forces you to look back on the entire film in a new light, and I must admit a cold chill went down my spine when it was quietly revealed. This is not a slasher film, this is a thoughtful film. I very much enjoyed it and can recommend it to anyone who loves both puzzles and suspense, tinged with a few jolting moments of terror.
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