Six Degrees of Separation (film)
| Six Degrees of Separation | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Fred Schepisi |
| Produced by | Arnon Milchan |
| Screenplay by | John Guare |
| Based on |
Six Degrees of Separation by John Guare |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Jerry Goldsmith |
| Cinematography | Ian Baker |
| Edited by | Peter Honess |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
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Release date
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Running time
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112 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $15 million |
| Box office | $6.4 million |
Six Degrees of Separation is a 1993 American comedy-drama film directed by Fred Schepisi and adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-nominatedJohn Guare play of the same name.
The plot of the film was inspired by the real-life story of David Hampton, a con man and robber who managed to convince a number of people in the 1980s that he was the son of actor Sidney Poitier. The writer John Guare was a friend of Inger McCabe Elliott and her husband Osborn Elliott. In October 1983, Hampton came to the Elliott's New York apartment and they allowed him to spend the night. The next morning, Inger Elliott found Hampton in bed with another man and later called the police. The Elliotts told Guare about the story and it inspired him to write the play years later.
Fifth Avenue socialite Ouisa Kittredge () and her art dealer husband Flan (Donald Sutherland), are parents of "two at Harvard and one at Groton". But the narrow world inhabited by the Kittredges and their public status as people interested in the arts make them easy prey for Paul (Will Smith). Paul is a skillful con-artist, who mysteriously appears at their door one night, injured and bleeding, claiming to be a close college friend of their Ivy League kids, as well as the son of Sidney Poitier. Ouisa and Flan are much impressed by Paul's fine taste, keen wit, articulate literary expositions and surprising culinary skill. His appealing facade soon has the Kittredges putting him up, lending him money and taking satisfaction in his praise for their posh lifestyle. Paul's scheme continues until he brings home a hustler, and his actual indigence is revealed. The shocked Kittredges kick him out when it is revealed that they are but the most recent victims of the duplicity with which Paul has charmed his way into many upper-crust homes along the Upper East Side. Paul's schemes become highbrow legend – anecdotal accounts of which are bantered about at their cocktail parties. In the end, Paul has a profound effect on the many individuals who encounter him, linking them in their shared experience.
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