US (1999): Drama/Thriller/Horror/Mystery

"I see dead people," whispers little Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment), scared to affirm what is to him now a daily occurrence. This peaked 9-year old, already hypersensitive to begin with, is now being haunted by seemingly malevolent spirits. Child psychologist Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) is trying to find out what's triggering Cole's visions, but what appears to be a psychological manifestation turns out to be frighteningly real. It might be enough to scare off a lesser man, but for Malcolm it's personal -- several months before, he was accosted and shot by an unhinged patient, who then turned the gun on himself. Since then, Malcolm has been in turmoil -- he and his wife (Olivia Williams) are barely speaking, and his life has taken an aimless turn. Having failed his loved ones and himself, he's not about to give up on Cole. The bare bones of the story are basic enough, but the moody atmosphere created by director-writer M. Night Shyamalan and cinematographer Tak Fujimoto made this one of the creepiest pictures of 1999, forsaking excessive gore for a sinisterly simple feeling of chilly otherworldliness. Willis is in his strong, silent type mode here, and gives the film wholly over to Osment, whose crumpled face and big eyes convey a child too wise for his years; his scenes with his mother (Toni Collette) are small, heartbreaking marvels. (Amazon.com)

· Best Picture of the Year 1999: Frank Marshall, Kathleen Kennedy & Barry Mendel - Producers (Hollywood Pictures/Spyglass, Buena Vista)
· Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role 1999: Haley Joel Osment
· Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role 1999: Toni Collette
· Achievement in Directing 1999: M. Night Shyamalan
· Achievement in Writing (Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen) 1999: M. Night Shyamalan
· Achievement in Film Editing 1999: Andrew Mondshein

6 nominations