What really stood out for me though were the performances. I remember one of his first films from the 70's called "The Devils Playground" and was impressed at that time by his direction. Directed by Fred Schepisi who has shown a real knack for filming plays before and he also has shown to be very good at making films that are more character oriented. Its a very intelligent script that forces the characters to see things that they seem to take for granted. The writing is very sharp and for most of us what is being said onscreen can easily go over our heads. The main focus of the film deals with how this young man made these characters take a good hard look at themselves and the relationship they have with each other and their children.
The films title refers to the fact that we all know everyone by six people or degrees. The Kittredge's talk to their friends and find out that they all encountered Paul as well but were afraid to say something because they were embarrassed. They also loan him money but in the morning they find him with another man and they kick everyone out. After a lot of talking and impressing them he cooks them a nice dinner and they invite him to spend the night.
He says he knows their children from college and remembered they lived there so thats why he came. This is the story of a young gay hustler named Paul (Smith) who knocks on the door of Ouisa and Flan Kittredge (Stockard Channing and Donald Sutherland) and tells them a story of being mugged and also being the son of Sidney Poitier. This is the film that made even the most harshest critics admit that Will Smith had real potential as far as being a serious actor is concerned. In that search, Ouisa in particularly starts to critically study their lives and how much compassion they actually have. Their encounter with him ends up being an all-too-familiar story that leads them on a search for him after he leaves their house the next morning. After tending to his wounds, the Kittredges invite him to stay the night. Beyond the attraction of talking Paul into getting them roles in the movie, Ouisa, Flan, and Geoffrey all end up being captivated by Paul's charm, charisma, pedigree, and eloquence.
#SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION DEFINITION MOVIE#
Tomorrow, Paul is meeting up with his father, who is in town directing a movie of "Cats". He was a friend of the Kittredges' children, who are attending Harvard more importantly, he's the son of actor and Director Sidney Poitier. The young man, Paul Poitier (Will Smith), had just arrived in the city when he was mugged outside their building, he sported a minor knife wound to the abdomen. They relay a story to their friends and acquaintances that becomes legendary over time: their encounter with a young black stranger who came stumbling upon their front door one evening as they were courting Geoffrey Miller (Sir Ian McKellen), an important investor who could make them wealthy beyond their dreams. Their prized possession is a double-sided Kandinsky: one side represents control the other, chaos. New Yorkers Louisa "Ouisa" Kittredge (Stockard Channing) and John Flanders "Flan" Kittredge (Donald Sutherland) are upper-class private art dealers, pretentious, but compassionate.