OK, when Malcom was sitting outside of the apartment that cole and his mom lived, he was reading something, on a bag. When Cole comes out, malcom walks with Cole. So, was the pad of paper also ghostly?

I wondered about that too. The "bumblebee pendant"
and Kyra's box with the tape proved that the
ghosts can manipulate solid objects. So maby the
pad was a real one that Malcom took from the
clinic where he used to work. But as I think this
over this explanation dosen't completly satisfy
me. I mean, someone would have noticed a pad
hovering above a bench on the street.

One nit that I have is that Malcom changes his
cloathes several times. None of the other ghosts
seemed to be able to do that. Kyra was stuck in
her nightgown and the burned lady was still
wearing her half-charred blouse. Also, in the
final revelation scene when Malcom stands above
his wife who is lying on the couch, you can
clearly see the front of his shirt and there is no
hole from the bullet, even though when he looks a
few moments later it has appeared.

(by the way, I'm unsure of my net etiquette, do we
need to put spoiler warnings on this stuff?)

I think it was pretty much established that Malcolm's sense of reality was warped- i.e. he saw only what he wanted to see - ex. he thought he was having a normal (if somewhat strained) relationship with his wife, he thought people were interacting with him, etc. Therefore, perhaps the Pad, nd Clothes are just manifestations of his warped perception of reality- i.e. because noone could see Malcolm but Cole (and, presumably, anyone else possessing the 6th sense), noone saw his different clothes or the pad. Because Cole could see Malcolm, perhaps he was also able to see Malcolm's warped perception of reality too.

I agree that Malcom only thought he was changing
cloathes and that was why we saw him do it, but I
bet that Cole saw him as he really was. Cole saw
all the other ghosts in their grisly forms, why
should it be different with Malcom?

To change the subject somewhat, my brother and I
are having a debate about at what point Cole
realized that Malcom was a ghost. I claim he
realized in the very first scene with them
together, but my brother claims that he only knew
at the end. Anyone have any ideas to help me out
in this argument?

Malcolm always wore a long trenchcoat around Cole, so he couldn't see his wound.

Why wasn't it always icy cold when Malcolm and Cole were together?

It only gets cold when ghosts get angry.

But coat or no coat Cole must have realized that
he didn't have an appointment with a doctor like
Malcom claimed.

I think Cole knew from the begining... that's why he was so reluctant to talk to Malcolm for awhile.

Tres cool movie, by the way. I was totally unprepared for the ending, and was in such a state of shock after it was over that i practically mowed down three people on the way out. I wanna see it again to check all those details like Malcolm's clothes and the conversations he thought he was having.

Very good film. The previews made it seem like schlock garbage, however. Bruce Willis was very restrained and believable, and Haley Joel Osment did an excellent performance, as well.

As some have said, this isn't and shouldn't be called a "horror" movie, although there are some pretty suspenseful scenes. The main question I have is what did Malcolm do in between being shot and meeting Cole? How did he hear about Cole?

The most clever aspect of the film is the fact it plays fair. There is never a scene where Malcolm imagines talking to anyone, but it is made realistic enough that it doesn't seem obvious (until the veeery end).

The previews made it seem like schlock garbage,however.

Actually, I hated the previews for another reason: I totally guessed the twist from the previews!! 30 years of filmwatching and- I dunno- just hit me- it couldn't have been more obvious! :^(

The most clever aspect of the film is the fact it plays fair. There is never a scene where Malcolm imagines talking to anyone, but it is made realistic enough that it doesn't seem obvious until the very end).

Actually..that's one place where the movie DIDN'T play fair- because the way the premise is set up he actually DID imagine talking to people..- these scenes presumably occurred off-screen- it's just that they couldn't show that b/c it would reveal the twist. So you had these sort of stiff scenes where the dialogue is sort of strained to allow no responses to him.

So...Malcolm's wife is clearly an educated, intelligent woman. Why on earth didn't she call 911 after her beloved husband was shot?

Also, what was Kyra's mom's motive for killing one daughter and starting on the next? That narrative was never quite fleshed out.

I must admit, I did not expect the twist at the end. But under serious consideration, it wouldn't hold up.

Cole said that the ghosts never know that they are ghosts. But the girl he helped clearly knew that she was dead.

Just as Malcom realised that he was dead. But the problem is, he wondered around the city for a year without knowing the difference. Am I correct in assuming that Cole is the only person he interracted with all year? What about shop keepers? Relatives? People in the street? It had to happen. Wouldn't he notice?

So...Malcolm's wife is clearly an educated, intelligent woman. Why on earth didn't she call 911 after her beloved husband was shot?

Chris, I think perhaps under the circumstances, a delay b/c of shock might not be too unbelievable? And perhaps she eventually DID call before he died- we don't see how that scene plays out.

Also, what was Kyra's mom's motive for killing one daughter and starting on the next? That narrative was never quite fleshed out.

I think they stated that she was sort of screwed up in the head and was making her daughters sick to keep them close to her.}

I must admit, I did not expect the twist at the end. But under serious consideration, it wouldn't hold up. …Cole said that the ghosts never know that they are ghosts. But the girl he helped clearly knew that she was dead. Just as Malcolm realized that he was dead. But the problem is, he wondered around the city for a year without knowing the difference. Am I correct in assuming that Cole is the only person he interacted with all year? What about shop keepers? Relatives? People in the street? It had to happen. Wouldn't he notice

Multi-M- I don't think they said that EVERY dead person didn't know they were dead. Also, the girl may have met ANOTHER person with the 6th Sense who clued her in, but didn't help her. As to Malcolm, they clearly established that the dead people were deluding themselves and not quite in touch with reality. Malcolm DEFINITELY would have interacted with other people (who, of course, wouldn't see/hear him) and he IMAGINED their responses- they couldn't do this trick as to the people he interacted with onscreen b/c that would have confused the viewers (i.e. if they showed people talking to Malcolm then it would be tougher to pull off the explanation at the end).

Re: "Also, what was Kyra's mom's motive for killing one daughter and starting on the next? That narrative was never quite fleshed out.

I think they stated that she was sort of screwed up in the head and was making her daughters sick to keep them close to her."

At the wake, you hear someone say (it may well have been the mother)... "Her grandmother went the same way and he younger sister is getting sick now too".
The mother needed these people to be sick, in her own mind, so she could give them the attention. That was the sole purpose of the woman's life, so it seemed.

And re: "Cole said that the ghosts never know that they are ghosts. But the girl he helped clearly knew that she was dead."
Don't they see what they want to see? And maybe it's when Cole finally reaches out and acknowledges they may have a problem that they're aware they're dead? Just a guess...

If you think about it, you never really see Malcolm interact with anyone else but Cole.Killer ending though.It's one of those where you start reviewing everything you just saw and it all falls into place.

On The Simpsons last night there was a reference
to The Sixth Sense. On the chalkboard, during the
opening theme, Bart writes "I do not see dead
people."

Great movie. Loved it.

My Nitpicks are listed numerically:
1) The Simpsons is a great show
2) We should have a Simpsons Board!

Oh, and incidentally, I loved this movie! That kid is just plain amazing. Only problem I had with it was the trailer. Previews ruin everything!

I'd just like to say that I was only pointing what
I thought was a halfway cute and/or interesting
reference to this movie. I did not mean to cause
any controversy. I am not lobbying for a Simpsons
board; do not care one way or another if there is
or isn't one. It's unimportant to me. I will hence
-forth refrain from any further reference to that show. I apologize if I caused any trouble.

You know, my last post makes little sense now. I mean, I'm glad this place has been cleaned up, and all offending impersonators have been prosecuted to the full extent of the law -- but now I read my post up there and even I've gotta wonder -- incidentally to what?

Back to the movie. To answer the questions about Kyra's mother, I believe she was suffering from a condition known as Munchausens By Proxy, in which a person (usually female) enjoys the attention that having a sick child or relative brings to her, and so makes them sick, and even kills them. This condition has been attributed as the cause of some cases where SIDS runs in families.

I think I figured this out when I saw the mother in red.

Speaking of red, what was with the red door-handle to the basement? I know that it was supposed to be a subtle clue, but I certainly didn't get it. Did anyone else?

He can't open the basement door. He thinks it's because he doesn't have the key on him, but it's really because it's now blocked by a booktable, which he chooses not to see. The shots are filmed that way so we can't look below the level of the door handle: if we did we'd see the booktable blocking it.

My interpertation of the movie was that we saw practically *every moment* of Malcolm's experiences after he died -- he filled in the blanks, as we did, but he did not actually experience a full year, just the couple of hours that we did. This would solve any logical ghosty problems, like him going to the supermarket in a mundane offscreen moment and not being able to get a clerk's attention, etc.

In closing, I *loved* this movie. I didn't see any trailers, but was taken by my best friend, so I was totally blindsided by the whole ending.

Alright, I have heard that there is a continuity problem with a mirror in the first scene. Anybody catch it? I just saw the movie yesterday, but I didn't notice anything with a mirror.

On Tuesday, the Oscar Nominations for Best Picture were announced, and "The Sixth Sense" was among the five nominated films. Am I the only person who didn't think that this was one of the best movies of the year? Don't get me wrong. I liked the movie. My initial feeling upon walking out of the theater was that its subject matter was fresh, and the movie was well done. I thought that the performances were good, but I wasn't blown away by Haley Joel Osment's performance (Oscar nominated), Tony Collete's performance (Oscar nominated), or Bruce Willis's performance, but I had no complaints. I figured out early on in the movie that Bruce Willis's character was a ghost (clues were dropped), so the "twist" ending didn't surprise me. I left the movie satisfied that I had seen a three star movie. I understand that a lot of people were deeply affected by this movie on an emotional, spiritual, or psychological level. What I don't understand is, why?

It's Toni Collette - with an I.

And a lot of people *didn't realise Bruce Willis was a ghost, until the end.

As for the emotional level - people struggle to cope with death and here was something saying "There is an after" and that justice would finally prevail, even after someone's passing.

The thing with the red doorknob confused me for a while.I didn't remember anything about the ghosts only seeing what they want to see.Proof, if any were needed, that these boards provide a positive sevice to the nitpickers community.

As for what Malcolm does when he's not with Cole, or the period between his death and his taking of the case, someone suggested that he simply spoke to people and imagined that they were reacting to him.So why did he see his wife as she really was, and not as he would have liked her to be?

And in the truly trivial section; A scene was filmed but cut from the film, depicting Malcolm crossing a road and nearly getting mown down by a truck.Because, of course, the truck driver couldn't have seen him.Apparently the director felt this would have tipped his hand too early.After all, why would the driver appear to completely ignore Malcolm?

Another scene they cut out; Malcolm arrives at Cole's play at the end, and asks a passing teacher if he is late.The teacher hurries by without answering.In the script, she appears to be carrying costumes for the play, which might explain why she just ignores him, skilfully masking over the fact that he's plain stone dead.

WARNING!!!!! MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I finally saw this movie, and all I can say is: WOW. That was probably the first movie that produced real emotion every step of the way that I've ever seen. The twist at the end had me screaming out "I shoulda known!"

On to the red Doorknob. On the VHS and DVD versions of the movie, there is a special segment included called "Rules and Clues". Here's what I remember from the top of my head.

The Color Red: Signifies something changed by ghosts, or having to do directly with ghosts. The Doorknob, the mother, the tent, the balloon, the stairs, the blanket, and even the volume control on the tape recorder (That last one I figured out myself)

Cold Air: The Air gets very cold, only when a ghost gets very angry (or maybe just very emotional).

Ghosts can only affect reality slightly, and only when trying hard: Malcolm is able to break the window of the antique store, but little else.

CLUES

During the anniversary dinner scene, Malcolm doesn't move the chair he sits in at all, nor does he move anything.

Just before Cole and Malcolm play the mind reading game, and it looks like Cole's mom and Malcom are talking, she's actually looking through him. I noticed this in my first showing, but didn't know what to make of it. (I had nitpicker mode off for most of the movie)

Obviously, it gets cold when a ghost is mad. We see this several times.

When Cole first tells his secret, he tells Malcolm about how ghosts are deluding themselves. If you watch him close, you can tell he's trying to tell Malcolm that HE is deluding himself.

Before Entering the little girls room, Cole asks Malcom "You're not going to go home, are you"? I didn't think this made much sense before I saw the end, but now it does. Cole obviously knew from day 1 that Malcom was a ghost.

Well, that's all I can remember right now, I've only watched it once though, so maybe I'll see more on the next time around.

There is also another scene, I think that was cut, that wasn't mentioned here. I remember in the previews for Pay Per View, that shows Cole comforting an old man holding a book. I don't remember that in the movie, unless I missed it.

I too, think this was an incredible movie. It is amazing that noone clued me into the twist at the end. I had no idea, until Malcome fiqured it out himself. Usually I end up reading it, or someone tells me, since I love spoilers. But for some reason, I didn't know, until I saw the movie. I am glad for it too. My emotions went through the roof, during that final scene.


Also, with Kyra, I don't know if another individual with the sixth sense clued her in, but I would have thought it was Cole. Remember, when he didn't turn away from her, he said, "Do you have anything you want to say to me!" So Cole was the one who probably clued her in.


Was the director playing a doctor in one scene?

Actulay... the volume control dosen't count. All of the red objects are objects that could easily be made. Baloons, clothes, etc. The volume control is far to small to really be noticed or manipulated. If you look closely at the volume control you will notice that each number has different amounts of red and white... to indicate the level of volume... the 10 is all red, the nine his a sliver of white, the eight a little more white, etc.

::As for what Malcolm does when he's not with Cole, or the period between his death and his taking of the case, someone suggested that he simply spoke to people and imagined that they were reacting to him. So why did he see his wife as she really was, and not as he would have liked her to be? :: Cableface

That would be because the movie was NOT shot from Malcolm's deluded point of view. The camera is a 3rd party observer filming objective reality (even the invisible parts) - not Malcolm's subjective reality.

Fair enough, but we can see from Malcolm's moods and reactions that he's unhappy about his relationship with his wife.I know we're not seeing what he sees, but I think the question still stands.

why? his moods and reactions are something a 3rd party objective viewer would see - fully consistent with the idea that we CAN'T see Malcolm's delusions (e.x when he THINKS he's having a conversation with someone).

Okay, so are you suggesting that not only is Malcolm deluding himself about other people's reactions to his conversations, but his own reations as well?So when we see him, he also imagines himself as reacting differently to how we see him?

Not quite- I'm saying that in order to keep the suspense of what is really going on, the director chooses to only let us see SOME of what Malcolm is experiencing- (i.e. we don't see the scenes where Malcolm is standing there talking to someone, not getting a response, but thinking he IS getting a response because he's deluding himself b/c that would give away the secret).

Loved this film!
I guessed the twist about 10 minutes into the film.
In answer to someone's earlier post- yes, the director played the doctor in the film (check the end credits).
In Australia, and I presume elsewhere, there are four extra scenes shown at the end of the film. The best by far is a scene involving toy soldiers and Cole explaining in gory detail how each of the dead soldiers died and their life history.
Also included are the scenes with the old man (and a second return visit by Malcolm to the old man) and the, thankfully, cut ending of the film.
I didn't believe the baloney from the director about this being his favourite scene- c'mon give me a break! Be honest for goodness sake!

Back to the film, I must admit that the whole Kyra sequence confused me at first. I wondered how handy it would be to be able to talk to the murder victims and have them give you a tape of the murder (it wasn't until a friend pointed out how the tape was REALLY done that I smacked myself repeatedly for being so dumb).
Well done Toni Collete- a fellow Aussie doing us proud once again! Suggestion to all US viewers- watch "Muriel's Wedding" to see a completly different side to her.

Rodney, what was the cut ending of the film? I would really like to know.

Me too Rodney.

It continues on from where the film stopped- the camera pans around to the TV to show the old video wedding footage of Malcolm giving a wedding speech where he says how much he loves her. He's totally drunk- and yes, he sounds like Dr. Seuss.
It's completely pointless and I'm glad they cut it because I would have barfed at that time (It's really hard for Aussies to say that word)

Well, Rodney, I was about to mention the cutout part of Cole playing with the toy soldiers and telling Malcolm about them (although I'd forgotten what the scene was about exactly) but one nit I noticed (either in the theater or from TV, like a making-of special, I forget where exactly, too) was when the camera angle is from inside the little dead girl's closet, looking out at her bed with Cole standing by it, you can see her moving around underneath just before her hand reaches out and grabs Cole. If it comes to cable I'll watch it or else I may rent it later to see if that was left in or digitized out.

Scene They SHOULD Have Cut

*The scene where Cole does the whole "Stuttering Stanley" bit. It's somewhat out of sync with Cole's character, and just how does he know that Mr. Cunningham was named "Stuttering Stanley" as a kid? Was there a dead person that told him? I suppose that kids could have told him, but it gives the incorrect assumption that Cole can either read minds or see the past. Cole's discussion of what happens to people being hung seems somewhat inaccurate, since he wouldn't be able to see the people spitting on or ordering the victims hung (unless a ghost told him, which at this point, seems unlikely).

*Does M. Night Shaymayan (probably spelt his name wrong) appear in this film as a cameo?

*Don't laugh, but when I saw the segment of the film where Cole reveals who killed the little girl, I was imagining the latest FOX show: "GHOST INVESTIGATOR! The kid sees ghosts who tell him how to solve their murders!" Actually, wasn't this a real comic book--Phantom Stranger?

Found out the answer to my question--M. Night Shaymayan appears as the doctor in the hospital scene.

With respects to Malcolm's "off-scene" activities, it's quite possible Malcolm's existance as a ghost is very disjointed. We only see certain other ghosts appear for short periods of time. If Malcolm's existence is more dream-like, it's easier to accept that he's being deluded, and that large swaths of his daily life are in fact missing. Consider that he wears essentially the same clothes throughout the movie. Surely if his existence involved him showering and getting dressed every day, he'd notice this.

I just borrowed the DVD, and the director mentions that the cloths that Malcom wore throughout the film were only the cloths he interacted with during the last evening of his life (aka, the first scene of the film).

SPOILERS ahead ... kinda hope you knew that since you're looking up nits ... but there's the obligitory warning anyway!

Well, I agree that the previews totally destroyed the entire movie. I think most of Amercia saw the "I see dead people" line. So knowing that ...

The movie opens with our buddy Malcom getting shot. It then cuts away from that, leaving it unresolved, to him suddenly all happy and healthy and talking to kid we all know sees dead people. Not conclusive, but c'mon, the thought must be there. So you watch along the movie, wonder why in the next 30 minutes nobody directly talks to Malcom but little dead-people seer. The little restuarant scene, where he babbles on and his wife (i think right? been a bit) doesn't even make eye contact with him kinda clinches the whole thing. Never makes eye contact, grabs up the bill, still not even glancing in his general direction, and walks right on out, never even glancing once at him. A strong suspicion by now at the very least.

And so the movie moves on, still nobody directly talks to Malcom but Cole. And at the end ... woah! No way! He's been dead?!

I think without seeing the "I see dead people" scene 50,000,000 times before seieng the movie, the movie would have been much better. The beginning suspicion I mentioned is gone, you can rather easily look past nobody talking directly to Malcom. You only learn that the little guy can see dead people about halfway through, and by the time you might start noticing nobody talks to Malcom, the ending would hit you. But of course, with that one line spewed all of the place, there was no way ...

A brilliant analysis made with 20/20 hindsight. By any chance did you figure out who Keyser Soze was at the start?

The movie opens with our buddy Malcom getting shot. It then cuts away from that, leaving it unresolved, to him suddenly all happy and healthy and talking to kid we all know sees dead people. Not conclusive, but c'mon, the thought must be there. So you watch along the movie, wonder why in the next 30 minutes nobody directly talks to Malcom but little dead-people seer. The little restuarant scene, where he babbles on and his wife (i think right? been a bit) doesn't even make eye contact with him kinda clinches the whole thing. Never makes eye contact, grabs up the bill, still not even glancing in his general direction, and walks right on out, never even glancing once at him. A strong suspicion by now at the very least.

I agree that the clues were right out their in the open, the reason that so many people did not figure it out was because the story was told so well that most viewers were sucked into the story and just taking it in instead of analizing it. As someone who worked in a theater I can tell you that most people (when the movie first came out) did not know, some still didn't get it after the film ended.

I think, interestingly, the BEGINNING scene that actually shows Malcolm getting shot may have faked everyone out. Think about it--technically, it's audaciously telling you the twist right there. If the movie opened with a mysterious guy showing up, talking to no one, who has no past, we would have probably pegged it sooner.

Also, the parts with Malcolm and his wife seemed realistic even without dialogue. I was completely faked out by that. I WAS bothered by the fact that Malcolm never talked with the mom, that she never talked to him, etc.

Murray Leeder: It only gets cold when ghosts get angry.

Specifically, when they get agitated. When Malcolms realizes he's dead at the end, it get's cold, because his wife's breath is visible. He isn't angry, he's just freaking out.

wow, a good movie. I think the kid (harvey Joel Oswald?) and Toni colette as the mom were superb players. The scene in the car when cole tells his mom what grandma told him was excellent.
I didn't like Bruce Willis, because even at the beginning, when he got the plaque, I never got the impression that he was a likeable, warm friendly shrink who helped dozens of kids. He just came across as restrained and cool - he neglects his wife for his work - with anger underneath (ready to explode).

When malcom is shot at the beginning, I thought: he's shot in the stomach, so he will survive, funny that the kid didn't manage to shoot him in the breast.

when they said its next fall, I wondered that the made that quick physical recovery after a shot to the stomach, but I thougth thats hollywood.

But if he did die that night, I wonder why? Did his wife spend so much time crying instead of calling the ambulance? I'm no doctor, but I would have thought with modern hospitals, a stomach wound has better chances of survival than a chest wound.

I didn't see the clues that malcom was dead, but now another nit comes up for me: cole tells that after one picture, there was already a teachers conference. So, sooner or later the school would suggest a shrink. Wouldn't someone notice that a shrink had been assigned, but noone turned up? Esp. after the incident when cole called the teacher stuttering. I would have expected them to call a counselor or sb. and that should have given a clue.

Of course, I wonder why noone suggest using a psychic (medium), a psp expert or a catholic priest to help cole with his contacts. Is Philadelphia to conservative to have these people, or is this new age stuff not commonly known? Maybe it also has to do with malcom being such a conventional shrink.

I still don't understand in which way malcom helped cole. He didn't loose his sixth sense. He helped one girl, but what about all the other ghosts - will cole have to help them, too? (he is going to have a busy timeplan )
Or is it that malcom doesn't feel like a looser because cole reminds him of vincent, and he helped him, so malcom is helping cole by letting cole help himself... help!

Errm, how does kira know that her mother poisons her, and how she does it? If the mother adds the poison in the kitchen, kira couldn't have taped it. (BTW, just what is in the bottle? The brand name didn't mean anything to me, and I couldn't read the fine script.) Why did none of the 8 doctors who examined kira order a blood test and find the poison?

The kid (harvey Joel Oswald?)
Haley Joel Osment.