Six Degrees of Separation (1993)

An affluent New York couple find their lives touched, intruded upon, and compelled by a mysterious young black man who is never quite who he says he is.

Director:

Fred Schepisi

Writers:

John Guare (play), John Guare (screenplay)

Stars:

Stockard Channing, Will Smith, Donald Sutherland

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Stockard Channing	...	Ouisa
Will Smith	...	Paul
Donald Sutherland	...	Flan
Ian McKellen	...	Geoffrey Miller
Mary Beth Hurt	...	Kitty
Bruce Davison	...	Larkin
Richard Masur	...	Dr. Fine
Anthony Michael Hall	...	Trent Conway
Heather Graham	...	Elizabeth
Eric Thal	...	Rick
Anthony Rapp	...	Ben
Oz Perkins	...	Woody (as Osgood Perkins)
Catherine Kellner	...	Tess
J.J. Abrams	...	Doug (as Jeffrey Abrams)
Joe Pentangelo	...	Police Officer

Storyline

New Yorkers Ouisa and Flan Kittredge are upper class private art dealers, pretentious but compassionate. Their prized possession is a double sided Kandinsky, one side that represents control, the other side chaos. They relay a story to their friends and acquaintances that over time becomes legendary. It is their encounter with a young black man who they had never met or heard of but who comes stumbling upon their front door one evening as they are courting an important investor, Geoffrey Miller, who could make them wealthy beyond what they could have dreamed. That black man is Paul Poitier, who has just arrived in the city, was just mugged outside their building and is sporting a minor knife wound to the abdomen. He is a friend of the Kittredge's children, who are attending Harvard, but more importantly is the son of actor/director Sidney Poitier. Tomorrow, Paul is meeting up with his father who is in town directing a movie of "Cats". Beyond the attraction of talking Paul into getting...

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Plot Keywords:

art dealer | art | business | city | class differences | 

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Taglines:

For Paul, every person is a new door to a new world.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some sexuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 December 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Seis Graus de Separação

Filming Locations:

Bronxville, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$6,410,676 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Maiden Movies, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), New Regency Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The inspiration for Paul, David Hampton, died of AIDS on 18 July 2003.

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Goofs

Paul's position when talking about the huskey statue changes between shots.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Flan: My God!
Ouisa: Is anything gone?
Flan: How can I look, I'm shaking!
Ouisa: I want to know if anything's gone!
Flan: Calm down.
Ouisa: We could have been killed! Oh, my God! The Kandinsky!
Flan: The Kandinsky!
Ouisa: It's gone, oh my God! Call the police!
Flan: Oh, no, there it is. Oh! The silver Victorian inkwell!
[...]

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Connections

References Cry, the Beloved Country (1951)

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Soundtracks

"The Bridal Chorus"
from "Lohengren"
by Richard Wagner

User Reviews

Overlooked and thoughtful examination of many salient barriers

A fantastic script bolstered by excellent performances, pleasant visuals, and steady directing. Once 'Six Degrees' truly gains momentum and once the characters become fleshed out (usually aided by the insertion of complementary characters), the issues tackled in the film start to weigh heavily.

There are so many worthwhile concepts at play here, particularly the latent desire for those separated by a societal barrier (race, class, age, etc.) to reconcile and to look more closely at one another.

The ending was fantastic; it may be frustrating to some viewers given its ambiguity, but that's what I loved about it. The events that occurred in the film would not be done any justice by neatly wrapping them up at the conclusion. There are too many disparate forces and influences on the characters, especially Ouisa. The important thing, however, is how she embraces her new experiences and allows them to challenge her and contemplate if her life is how she wants it to be.

Highly, highly recommended.