Inspired by Haley Joel Osment’s rather charming IAmA, I thought I’d give the film another watch to see if it had stood the test of time (I watched it two or three times when it came out).

I think it has.

Cole Sear is a nine year old boy who lives with his frantically busy single mother and is bullied at school for being weird; he’s a bit of an outcast. Dr Malcolm Crowe is a psychologist who seems to be at the top of his game, he has just been given an award by the Mayor and he has a beautiful wife and they seem very in love.

An incident happens to bring the two together and at the same time seems to isolate Crowe from his wife. Crowe takes on Cole as a patient because he recognises in him what he once saw in a patient many years ago that, ultimately, he was sadly unable to fix.

They develop a bond and Cole is able to trust him, and lets him in on a disturbing secret that he’s been unable to tell anyone up until this point; a secret that helps explain his weird and somewhat creepy demeanour (also: lonely). In return, the nine year old boy gives Crowe advice on how to talk to his wife; he's a very perceptive nine year old, and wise far beyond his years.

Of course there’s a little more to it than that, and I’m sure most readers will be aware of its now infamous line and plot, but I’m hoping some will not, and will enjoy discovering for themselves.

Superb acting by the young Haley Joel Osment and not a bad effort at all by Bruce Willis. In fact it’s probably the best I’ve ever seen him act over the years (I’m not a fan, but he gets my vote in this film). Also look out for an outstanding but very brief performance by Donnie Wahlberg (he's the skinny guy).

I definitely recommend. 8.5/10.

You can watch the full film here on YouTube.