marksman wrote:The film that this idea reminds me of is the Sixth Sense. In the Sixth Sense, you see the Bruce Willis character apparently interacting with people, but this is an illusion because he is a ghost (without knowing it) and is invisible to everyone. There is a restaurant scene in which someone else pays the check, which seems quite natural. But at the end of the film, you see what really happened: The same scene is shown, but without Bruce Willis, and then you realize that this must be true version. It is a long time since I saw this film, so I can't entirely trust my memory, but the above is roughly what happens.
My sixth sense tells me that this scene with Dan and Herb (which is so hard to fit into the rest of the film) is crucial to understanding MD.

INT. RESTAURANT - EVENING

Malcolm hurriedly enters a spacious, dimly-lit Italian
restaurant. He stops in the dining room and searches the many
candle-lit tables. He finds Anna.

Anna sits alone at a corner table. The remains of her half-eaten
dinner lay on the only place setting on the table. A small PIECE
OF CAKE WITH A CANDLE in it sits untouched.

Anna stirs sugar in her coffee as Malcolm sits in the seat across
from her. She gently stops stirring, but doesn't look up. Beat.

MALCOLM
I thought you meant the other
Italian restaurant I asked you to
marry me in.

Anna isn't laughing. Not even close.

MALCOLM
I'm so sorry.
(beat)
I can't seem to keep track of time.

Anna quietly takes a sip from her coffee.

MALCOLM
It didn't go well today. Spent
some time after trying to get my
head together.

Anna looks around for the waiter.

MALCOLM
They're so similar, Anna. They
have the same mannerisms. The same
expressions. The same thing
hanging over them.
(beat)
It might be some kind of abuse.

That makes Anna turn back. She glances across the table, then
looks down.

MALCOLM
There are cuts on Cole's arms.
Fingernail marks, I think. Looks
like defensive cuts.

Malcolm demonstrates by holding up his arm to shield his face.

MALCOLM
(beat)
Possibly a teacher, neighbor.
(beat)
I don't think it's the mother.
Just a gut thing. The way she
deals with him. It doesn't fit.
(beat)
Hard to say this early. Could
just be a child climbing a lot of
trees.

Malcolm loses himself in his thoughts. The waiter drops off the
check on the table. Anna grabs it before Malcolm and quickly
signs it.

MALCOLM
I know I've been kind of out of it
for a long while and you resent it.
You do. I know you're mad. I know
it's put some distance between us.

Beat.

MALCOLM
But I'm getting a second chance
here. I can't let it slip away.

Anna waits till he's done and rises from the table. She pushes
her chair in hard and walks away without a word. Malcolm sits
alone and stares at the piece of cake with a candle on it.

MALCOLM
(soft)
...Happy Anniversary.

marksman wrote:Blu, the character played by Bruce Willis is actually dead. Its just that his ghost won't accept death. His wife sits at the table and isn't aware that his ghost is sitting there. Bruce Willis keeps on talking to her, and thinks that she is listening but she can't hear anything. There is just one moment when she seems to sense his presence, but this is fleeting. This is all revealed at the end of the film. Its actually a master class of how a director can play tricks on an audience. And yet I preferred Unbreakable to it. The scenes of Samuel Jackson and Bruce playing off each other were terrific.