HISTORY
CRITICS' UNANIMOUS DECISION:
HALEY JOEL OSMENT DOES A VERY GOOD DEED FOR UPBEAT PAY IT FORWARD!
Spacey, Hunt and Haley "I See Dead People" Osment brought a positive feeling home with strong, credible performances (Was there ever a doubt?). Osment, a charmer of a child, makes the perfect center of the movie. Looking at his face, you can really believe he'd have the confidence and kid power to change the world.
Desson Howe Washington Post
Osment, conveying sad wisdom beyond his years, proves that last year's turn in "The Sixth Sense" was no fluke.
David Germain Associated Press
Haley Joel Osment is even more extraordinary here than he was in "The Sixth Sense." He's that rare child star who transcends the curse of being a child star.
Eugene Novikov Ultimate Movies
Surpassing even these Oscar winners, though, is Osment, the young Sixth Sense star who displays even more emotional range. I usually suspect that great youth performances are the result of careful casting and manipulative direction. Haley, though, is already a superb actor. We're carried through "Pay It Forward" by the boy's emotional development, his concern for people and his innate goodness and growing courage. We believe his every gesture, statement, action and reaction.
Jack Garner Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
You witness the first, testing, tension-packed conversation between Spacey and Osment, as pregnant in its silences as in its words, and you are ready to go wherever this movie leads you. Nonetheless, none of that prepares the viewer for the shocking twist near the end of the film that comes out of the blue.
Susan Stark Detroit News
Osment, once again proving himself the equal of adult actors in the complexity and depth of his performance.
Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times
The performances gradually won me over -- and this is due less to the adult castt than to Osment, who is riveting and completely believable, and definitely proves that "The Sixth Sense" was no fluke. Haley Joel Osment does a very good deed for upbeat "Pay It Forward." He displays an intensity and authority that I can't ever remember seeing in a child actor.
William Arnold Seattle Post-Intelligencer
As Trevor, Haley Joel Osment ... is amazing again. The movie has a realistic sense of people's failings ... and it recognizes how hard it is to turn a life around.
Steve Rhodes
Haley Joel Osment, seems to have been born with a face that just seems earnest and intense. But whatever part luck played, he is already a skillful actor who holds his own against adults, not with cuteness, but with genuine acting intelligence.
Mark Leeper
Undeniably one of the best, if not the best, child actors working today, Haley Joel Osment proves here that his performance in "The Sixth Sense" was no fluke. Although his character is occasionally subjected to those same melodramatic moments befalling his costars, Osment sidesteps falling into their trappings. What ultimately saves the film are the performances from its Oscar winning trio of thespians who embody the story's emotionally injured characters.
ScreenIt.com
Osment continues the naturalistic simplicity of his Sixth Sense performance. At one point his character runs away to a bus station, to escape his messed-up home life, and is caught there by his mom and the teacher. Osment looks like a gust of wind could knock him over, but at this moment his grown-up sense of despair and disgust are shocking.
Robert Horton Film.com
Again, Haley shows us an extraordinary child, wise and sensitive beyond his years because of what he has had to face, but still completely believable as an 11-year-old. My heart was happily warmed and my tears happily jerked.
Nell Minow The Movie Mom
One of the greatest success stories, Haley Joel Osment, makes what he can with his character's limited dimensions, and provides quite a bit of comic relief while attempting to set up Eugene and Arlene.
John Sylva
Osment excels in another tricky role in the film, managing to be cute without being cutesy. "Pay It Forward" works beautifully as a figment of idealism and goodwill and you'll believe this little pipe dreamer who takes it on himself to be guardian angel to the world.
Joe Baltake Sacramento Bee
Osment truly is as good as it gets where kid thesps are concerned. Endearing but never cloying as a boy resigned to picking up his passed-out mom's vodka bottles late at night but not to growing up without a father in the house. He brings the requisite brightness, determination, hurt and optimism to a multifaceted role.
Todd McCarthy Variety, Inc.
As the de facto adult in his family, Trevor has a steeliness and a fierce determination that Osment is completely comfortable with. The substance and strength he brings to the part, his ability to match intensity with both Spacey and Hunt, show, in case anyone had any doubts, that Osment's performance in "The Sixth Sense" was hardly a fluke. Young as he is, this is quite an actor. The combination of restrained writing and direction top-of-the-line acting is enough to make even confirmed agnostics want to believe in this unashamed fairy tale
Kenneth Turan Los Angeles Times
Worth going to see, mainly for Osment's superb thespian abilities.
Alli Joseph TNT'S Rough Cut
Osment easily lives up to the acclaim he garnered for "The Sixth Sense." His work as a messiah of altruism is imbued with layers of subtlety and detail.
Philip Booth Orlando Weekly
Haley Joel Osment proves that his intuitive Oscar effort in "The Sixth Sense" was no fluke. "Pay It Forward's" cornball concept scores a direct hit to the reflexes. I was glad I grabbed a handful of concession napkins. Judging by the chorus of sniffles, I wasn't alone.
Susan Wloszczyna USA Today
The idea is simple, sweet and catchy, like a pop song, and "Pay It Forward" is almost as irresistible as Haley's idea.
Terry Lawson Detroit Free Press
Those who thought his wonderful performance in "The Sixth Sense" was a fluke will be surprised – and thrilled – to see that Osment is the real thing. This kid can act. When Trevor is being playful, Osment is every bit an average 11-year-old. And when he’s hurting, Osment is equally believable. After Arlene slaps Trevor, the look on Osment’s face is searingly painful. This is the stuff of melodrama, and there’s certainly plenty of that in "Pay it Forward." But while the film is uneven, it is thematically rich at its core and benefits from outstanding performances by Osment, Spacey and Hunt.
Brian Webster
12-year old Haley Joel Osment, who became famous by uttering the by-now-unforgettable phrase "I see dead people," sees tortured souls in this film. Osment is great as the protagonist of the story, who sets the wheels in motion.
Matt Easterbrook
There's something that gets to you about the gravity with which Osment wearily takes his mom's latest bottle of vodka from its latest hiding place and pours it down the sink. No less than the weight of sadness his haunted kid in ''The Sixth Sense'' bore, his face on this occasion speaks of a weight of responsibility he resents bearing when the parent-child roles are reversed in his broken family. "Pay It Forward" is carried to an amazing degree by its performances. It's the kind of film you've got to admire simply for the way it squares its shoulders and plunges into a message of unfashionable idealism.
Jay Carr Boston Globe
Osment, who doesn't get as teary eyed as the commercial would lead you to think, confirms that his talent is real. "Pat It Forward" is intelligent in script and execution, well performed and very touching.
Chuck Schwartz, Cranky Critic.com
Haley Joel Osment proves that he is not a one shot wonder for his performance in "The Sixth Sense." In his portrayal of the right-minded Trevor the inherent intelligence and dedication of the boy is a significant force in the development of the story and Osment meets the need with a professionalism that belies his years. "Pay It Forward" is an odd mix of good acting talent and an under-achieving script that hampers the overall effort.
Robin Clifford Reeling Reviews
Osment once again proves his acting ability as the seriously determined Trevor. He seems wise beyond his eleven years, yet can still cut loose and act his age.
Laura Clifford Reeling Reviews
Though Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt and Haley Joel Osment are all in top form, their efforts are mangled by the fact that they are acting in a sanitized Hollywood drama that holds back on presenting harsh realities.
John Powell JAM! Showbiz
Being led by the nose was never so pleasant but Spacey and Osment can wrench a few tears out of me anytime they want.
Eric Snider
You might probably be disappointed with the film itself but remember, this is worth a look because you will definitely enjoy the very good performances by Spacey, Hunt and specially Osment.
Eric Lurio Greenwich Village Gazette
Osment proves to everyone that "The Sixth Sense" was no fluke. Gutsy when it's not glossy, "Pay It Forward" is an affirming experience." It slips into the dreaded sentimentality only briefly, succumbing to a bit of emotional manipulation in a manner that many viewers may find disturbing. But the remaining 95 percent of the movie is so inspired that its audiences may nonetheless be inclined to take Trevor’s lead and extend a little grace to the director -- by encouraging a few friends to reward her work with their own dollars. It wouldn’t be misplaced.
Berge Garabedian
Of course, it's a pleasure to watch Hunt and Spacey perform. And Osment shows us that his Oscar turn in "The Sixth Sense" was no fluke. The Bottom Line: Despite numerous flaws, the awkward "Pay It Forward" is a film that deserves to be seen, if only for its three central performances.
Homer Yen
Despite the concerted efforts of its Oscar pedigree cast to keep it real, Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt and impressive young Haley Joel Osment unfortunately find themselves smothered by the schmaltz. The film offers all the ingredients of a three-handkerchief weepie, but director Mimi Leder keeps the emotions simmering below the surface until the operatic shocking finale.
Michael Rechtshaffen Hollywood Reporter
Thee only pleasure in this film is the work of Haley Joel Osment. He's the sort of kid any teacher would want in his classes, one who uses his ingenuity to design a plan to capture a stepfather for himself.
Havey Karten
Good acting by Osment, Spacey and Hunt combined with the audience's desire to see good done is enough to warrant a recommendation for "Pay It Forward."
Brian McTavish Kansas City Star