The Sixth Sense (1999)

[Dave]

Not many posts here!!

I've enjoyed all of the M Night Shyamalan's films I've watched, but I've avoided this until now because I was spoiled the ending. I expected that the film would be totally ruined because I already knew the twist. I just watched it recorded from TV with my son (who didn't know) and I still enjoyed it. I could see the clues very easily and couldn't believe how he didn't realise. I think that is a tribute to how clever this film is.

 

[Metryq]

My dad used to "guess the endings" of shows on TV all the time. He was a high school English teacher. And when one reads enough, one learns the craft of storytelling. As I got older, I learned how to guess the endings, too, although any given story might have two or more probable conclusions.

I saw the ending coming in Sixth Sense, but that hardly "ruined" the movie for me. In fact, it gave me a greater appreciation for the broader messages in the film. My dad wrote columns on teaching for a local paper. And there was one that fitted Sixth Sense perfectly: "Students Who Taught Me."

As TokyoGirl noted, being dead might have been a dream-like state for Dr. Crowe (Willis), where he'd see only what he wanted to see. Many people live their lives that way. And since we saw everything from Dr. Crowe's point-of-view, the audience can only assume the expected interactions — such as Dr. Crowe meeting Mrs. Sear and then waiting with her for Cole to get home — were not shown.

A "twist" ending can still be good if you've figured it out and the main character hasn't.