(WARNING: There are spoilers)

CONTINUED FROM PART 1...

Essentially, the ghost plot is a template for Shyamalan's central theme that we all need to communicate with each other better, whether it's between husband and wife, mother and son, or the living and the dead. All of the characters are unhappy until they really start to listen and talk to one another. The characters and their relationships are actually more important than the scares. This emotional core is rare among thrillers. The entire cast does an excellent job with their characters, even in small roles. Who could forget the unrecognizable Donnie Wahlberg as Vincent Grey, the dreadfully disturbed man who kills Malcolm (his old psychologist) and then himself? There's also the actor who plays Kyra's dad (Greg Wood), whose unmoving face disintegrates before our very eyes as he finds out what really happened to his daughter.

Bruce Willis portrays Malcolm as both warm and sad, conveying both with equal skill. He has a real chemistry with Haley Joel Osment and their scenes are consistently interesting to watch. Toni Collette, as Cole's mother Lynn, is also outstanding. My favorite scene with her is when she gets angry at Cole for apparently moving her deceased mother's pendant. It's not the fact that she's mad at her innocent son that I like, of course, but that she pours her heart out in that scene so well that I can understand and sympathize with her as much as I do with Cole. Another great moment with her happens shortly afterwards when Cole, having seen a ghost, asks his mother if he can sleep with her tonight as long as she isn't too mad at him. Her gentle reply, "Look at my face. I'm not very mad," always tugs at my heart because it is so sweet and truthful.

The most extraordinary acting, though, comes from Haley Joel Osment, mainly because he was just 11 years old when the movie was released. Cole would be a difficult role for any actor to play, especially with all the doubt, anxiety, and compassion the character has. Cole is a troubled boy who has seen and experienced things way beyond what a child should, which makes Osment's performance all the more incredible. For such a young actor to reach into that level of emotional and psychological depth and maturity is simply amazing. However, Osment still retains Cole's childish behavior. In one very amusing example, Malcolm says "bulls**t" and Cole reacts by commenting, "You said the 's' word." Malcolm promptly apologizes. Osment's acting in this film is definitely one of the greatest child performances in the history of the cinema.

This being his first thriller, Shyamalan established many of his techniques that he would continue to use in his later movies, like the long takes using an unsteady camera, showing people on reflections, and his unique use of color. In this film, the color red is used to represent objects that have been affected by the spirit world. This ties into the scene in which Anna talks about how she believes that objects are imprinted by their owners after they pass away. The surprise ending, obviously, is the most famous aspect of the movie. Unlike some surprise endings, this one causes the viewer to re-watch and re-evaluate the entire film, giving it new meanings. However, it is the exceptionally heartfelt part after the twist that is even greater: Malcolm, realizing that he has finished his last goal on Earth, says his final words of comfort to his sleeping wife, closes his eyes, and the screen fades to white as if Malcolm is ascending into Heaven. The last image of the movie is a flashback of the two of them getting married, a symbol of their undying love.