Rebecca and Daijah: The Sixth Sense

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QxBrJo6ruPspnNvRFeIA-KQFWzcm6YWJ/view?usp=sharing

Rebecca Cassel-Siskind and Daijah Fleming

Ms. Pahomov

Reel Reading

24 May 2022

The Sixth Sense Scene Analysis Transcript

This is the ending scene in The Sixth Sense by M. Night Shyamalan. This is where the main character Malcolm, played by Bruce Willis, realizes that he is dead.

To start off, his wedding ring rolls onto the floor. A close-up of the ring is shown as it spirals. He raises his ringless hand as the camera focuses on the foreground, in the background, you can see his wife’s ring on her finger.

Tears fill his eyes and he has his first flashback. Shyamalan’s directorial choice of flashbacks reveals to the viewer all the clues that he was dead the entire time. This is where his true realization begins.

This is a close-up of Cole in the hospital revealing to Malcolm that he has the ability to see dead people.

Cole’s voice from his reveal in the hospital continues as a voiceover. Malcolm alarmingly steps back as eerie music plays setting the scene for his dramatic realization.

When this scene actually occurs in the film, not just this flashback, director M. Night Shyamalan sets the scene to make it seem like nothing is abnormal, but in actuality, Malcolm is dead and therefore Cole’s mother cannot see him. But Shyamalan purposefully sets it up like this so that the audience does not know.

Dolly tracking is used in this scene to portray his immense confusion and panic. He looks over to see a dinner set for one at the dining room table with a red napkin. Red is a recurring color in the film that symbolizes a closeness between this world and the next.

According to a review from the Looper, “In the scene where Malcolm and Lynn are seated across from each other, Lynn has no clue he’s there. That’s why Cole won’t talk to Malcolm until his mom leaves the room. Malcolm, on the other hand, doesn’t notice that Lynn is ignoring him. Ghosts are in such denial that they ignore anything that proves they’re really dead.”

The whole time he thinks that his relationship with his wife is not good and that they are distant, but in reality, he is dead. That is shown in this flashback where he tries to grab the check but she does just before him.

There is then a closeup of his hand on the red doorknob to the basement in an attempt to open the door, but he unfortunately cannot.

Malcolm then collapses his body up against the wall in complete disbelief and realization that he is actually dead. Intense, loud, almost haunting non-diegetic sound is playing to emphasize these feelings. This also creates suspense for the viewer. It then cuts to a closeup of Malcolm’s wife asleep and you can see her breath emphasizing the idea that it gets colder when dead people are around, that has been a theme throughout the film.

The haunting music fades to a gunshot and then a scream from his wife from the flashback. As he is backed up against the wall, it then smoothly zooms out to the first scene in the film when he is shot by the boy, he is on the bed, and his wife rushes over to him.

As the flashback from Malcolm getting shot cuts in and out, he then holds his side where he remembers being shot. Using a closeup, we see the blood dripping down from his stomach.

He turns around to his back drenched in blood. Shyamalan is using the technique shot-reverse-shot between scenes to show Malcolm’s realization and remembrance of his death. We decided to do this scene because after watching The Sixth Sense we agreed that the plot twist was just brilliant. According to a review from The Cinemaholic, “The Ending, in particular, leaves you questioning your ability to pay attention to details while watching something. An unexpected twist which knocks you flat upon first viewing.”

Saini, Ashish. “The Sixth Sense Ending, Explained.” The Cinemaholic, edited by Gautam Anand, Gani, 2022. https://thecinemaholic.com/sixth-sense-ending-explained/

Moore, Nolan. “We Finally Understand The Ending Of The Sixth Sense.” Looper, 2019. https://www.looper.com/154520/we-finally-understand-the-ending-of-the-sixth-sense/