The Shyammys – An M Night Retrospective
Now that I’ve watched all of M Night Shyamalan’s current filmography, I thought it would be fun to do a little awards show to celebrate the work of the director I’ve been reviewing for the last fifteen weeks. This will be a casual thing, meant for fun. All opinions are my own.
We’ll start with a fun category:
Best M Night Cameo
The nominees are:
Ray Reddy – Signs
Vick Ran – Lady in the Water
Hotel Van Driver – Old
Jai, Security Guard – Glass
And the winner is…
Vick Ran, Lady in the Water
I think this is my far the best M Night Cameo, even though it was truly not a cameo, rather the 6th or 7th lead. Vick Ran is a fascinating character plagued by the knowledge that the book he is writing will lead to him getting assasinated. What Shyamalan was trying to say by choosing to play this role himself, I will never fully understand. But I think about it all the time. It’s my Roman Empire.
Best Cinematography
The nominees are:
Tak Fujimoto, Signs
Roger Deakins, The Village
Mike Gioulakis, Old
Jarin Blaschke & Lowell A. Meyer, Knock at the Cabin
And the winner is…
Jarin Blaschke & Lowell A. Meyer, Knock at the Cabin
This was an easy choice for me. Nowhere does M Night use the camera to tell the story as well as this. It is as much a character in this film as Dave Bautista’s Leonard. Everything about the cinematography felt right, the framing telling a parallel yet equally important story. It left me super excited for what Shyamalan will do next.
Best Writing
The nominees are:
M Night Shyamalan, The Sixth Sense
M Night Shyamalan, Unbreakable
M Night Shyamalan, Signs
M Night Shyamalan, The Village
And the winner is…
M Night Shyamalan, Signs
This is another no brainer. This, in my opinion, is one of the best written films of all time. Everything comes together in multiple layers, some expected and others surprising. The first time I watched this film, I immediately downloaded the script and studied it. It is both Shyamalan’s funniest film, and one of his darkest. Its tone is so unique and likely cannot be replicated.
Best Twist
The nominees are:
The Sixth Sense
Signs
The Village
The Visit
And the winner is…
The Sixth Sense
This was a tough race for me between this and the double twists of The Village, but just based on it being one of the most famous and iconic plot twists of all time, I’ve got to hand it to The Sixth Sense. I won’t say the twist here, but if you don’t know it then what are you doing here? Go watch the movie.
Best Child Actor
The nominees are:
Haley Joel Osment, The Sixth Sense
Spencer Treat Clark, Unbreakable
Abigail Breslin, Signs
Rory Culkin, Signs
And the winner is…
Haley Joel Osment, The Sixth Sense
If you’ve seen the film, you know this is well deserved. Osment delivers a performance so raw and emotional that no other child could’ve done as well as he did. Child actors aren’t usually great, but Shyamalan has a talent for working with kids, getting some of his best work from them, especially in The Sixth Sense.
Best Supporting Actor/Actress
The nominees are:
Samuel L Jackson, Unbreakable
Joaquin Pheonix, Signs
Anya Taylor-Joy, Split
Dave Bautista, Knock at the Cabin
And the winner is…
Dave Bautista, Knock at the Cabin
This performance surprised me. Bautista displays a level of humanity that is both tragic and extremely human. He believes in his mission with all his heart, even though it forces him to do terrible things. And Bautista sells it perfectly. I am very excited to see what he will do in the future and if his career will continue in the direction of these deeply complex roles.
Best Lead Actor/Actress
The nominees are:
Bruce Willis, The Sixth Sense
Mel Gibson, Signs
Bryce Dallas Howard, The Village
James McAvoy, Split
And the winner is…
Bruce Willis, The Sixth Sense
This is an incredible performance on every level. It’s human, real, and deeply vulnerable. This layered performance is deepened as the film progresses. The longer the film goes on, and the more you understand about his character, the more real and tragic his performance becomes. It doesn’t get much better than this. Bravo, Mr. Willis. A well earned Shyammy indeed.
Best Directing
The nominees are:
M Night Shyamalan, The Sixth Sense
M Night Shyamalan, Unbreakable
M Night Shyamalan, Signs
M Night Shyamalan, Knock at the Cabin
And the winner is…
M Night Shyamalan, The Sixth Sense
This is starting to feel like a sweep! The directing on display is great with all of the nominees, but in The Sixth Sense especially, Shyamalan really feels like he is discovering himself and his style for the first time. He is realizing what he can do with the camera. He’s realizing how he can direct his actors. And he’s making a damn impressive movie while he does it. It’s incredible work.
Best Picture
The nominees are:
The Sixth Sense
Unbreakable
Signs
Knock at the Cabin
And the winner is…
Signs
There’s a reason this is my favorite Shyamalan film, and that it’s among my favorite films of all time. Every aspect of this film just… works. The writing, directing, cinematography, and acting all work together to make a great blend of a film that makes you laugh, cry, feel hope and despair, and I couldn’t imagine enjoying it any more than I do. I would give anything to see this in a theater someday. It inspires me to write, and exemplifies why I love movies so much.
That’s it! Thank you for attending the Shyammys, I hope you had a good time. Be sure to take your gift bags on the way out.
For the matter of what director I’ll be covering next…
She’s a well known director who got her start in the 80’s, developing her own style early on in her career, eventually becoming the first female filmmaker to win an Oscar for Best Director… Katheryn Bigelow.
Next week, I’ll cover her film debut The Loveless
Hope to see you then.
