The 3-Act Paradigm at Work: The Sixth Sense

written by M. Night Shyamalan


The Sixth Sense is a thriller about a child psychiatrist trying to redeem a failed episode in his past by helping a disturbed boy. The movie packs a great surprise ending and a brilliant piece of acting in the role of the boy.

Structural Analysis

  1. Hook (0-1 min.)
    • A woman fetching wine from the basement thinks she hears something. Something creepy is going on.
  2. Complication (4-5 min.)
    • A former patient of Dr. Malcolm Crowe has broken into the house. He shoots the doctor, then kills himself, as the wife watches in horror.
  3. Call to Action (9 min.)
    • The following fall, Crowe takes on another case, to help a disturbed boy.
  4. Act One Plot Point (24-6, 34 min.)
    • Crowe commits himself to the case, even being late for his anniversary dinner. He sees this as a second chance, a chance to redeem himself, and he doesn't want it to slip away. But the wife finds him distant, and this case is hurting his marriage. Later, at school, the boy becomes verbally violent and shows he is able to see people's secrets. He has some kind of power.
  5. Midpoint Plot Point (47 min.)
    • The boy shares his secret with Crowe: he can see dead people.
  6. Act Two Plot Point (65-6, 69 min.)
    • Crowe says he is going to quit the case. He admits failure. He wants his marriage back like it was. But he hasn't really believed the boy, who says "how can you help me if you don't believe me?" Then Crowe hears strange voices on an interview tape - could they be ghosts, the voices of dead people?
  7. Climax and Resolution (81-9, 94-6 min.)
    • Crowe gives the boy tools to help himself: the ghosts appear because they want help. So help them. He is able to help a grieving father and even his own mother with their experiences of death. In a surprise ending, when Crowe returns home to work on his marriage, we learn that he actually was killed, not wounded, when he was shot at the beginning of the movie. His final death was delayed so he could redeem himself first and now he tells his sleeping wife, "I think I can go now."

Notes

The Sixth Sense is full of suspense and surprises. It's a gripping movie.


MODULE 4: SCREENWRIGHT: the craft of screenwriting

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