Anesthesia (2015)

Multiple lives intersect in the aftermath of the violent mugging of a Columbia University philosophy professor.

Director:

Tim Blake Nelson

Writer:

Tim Blake Nelson

Stars:

Sam Waterston, Kristen Stewart, Corey Stoll

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sam Waterston	...	Walter Zarrow
Ivan Goris	...	Ignacio
Rob Morgan	...	Parnell
Corey Stoll	...	Sam
Mickey Sumner	...	Nicole
Kaipo Schwab	...	Tenant
Tim Blake Nelson	...	Adam
Kristen Stewart	...	Sophie
Philip Ettinger	...	Roger (as Phil Ettinger)
Gretchen Mol	...	Sarah
Natasha Gregson Wagner	...	Marta
Erica Cho	...	Teacher
Jacqueline Baum	...	Allie
Ekaterina Samsonov	...	Angie
Hannah Marks	...	Ella

Storyline

Philosophy professor Walter Zarrow is wounded during a mugging. In an effort to escape he rings buzzers indiscriminately, waking Sam, a middle aged father of two having an affair in the city. Sam reluctantly answers Zarrow's pleas, and Zarrow loses consciousness in his arms. Through an exploration of why these men, along with the mugger, and an addict named Joe, come together, we explore New York City. The experience of Zarrow, Sam, Joe and Zarrow's assailant ripple quickly out to include the connected lives of a housewife struggling with alcoholism, a stoner teen desperate to lose his virginity, a brilliant but failed writer fighting addiction, two parents confronting the prospect of terminal illness, and a brilliant grad student who wounds herself to feel alive.

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Plot Keywords:

reference to montaigne | garden | newspaper | newspaper front page | vomiting | 

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Taglines:

Who we don't know can save us

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, sexual content, drug use and brief violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

Kristen Stewart and Hannah Marks previously worked together on The Runaways (2010).

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Quotes

Prof. Walter Zarrow: I used to believe in nothing; now I believe in everything.

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Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Kristen Stewart/Michael Shannon/Cage the Elephant (2016)

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Soundtracks

(Don't) Tremble
Performed by The Low Anthem
Courtesy of Nonesuch Records,
by arrangement with Warner Music Group Film and TV Licensing;
and [PIAS] Recordngs [UK] Limited t/a [PIAS] Cooperative
Written by Jocelyn Adams (as Jocelyn Jager Adams), Ben Knox Miller (as Benjamin Knox Miller), Jeff Prystowsky (as Jeffrey Carl Prystowsky)
Published by Chrysalis Music (ASCAP) / Art Boat Publishing c/o BMG Rights Management (US) LLC

User Reviews

disappointingly predictable and self-indulgent

I found this film to be disappointingly predictable and a self- indulgent piece of "entertainment".It would have been more entertaining to watch paint drying - and about as easy to guess the next scene. The characters were all two-dimensional and lacking in any depth.

One detail that particularly irritated me was the lecturing manner - and content - of the supposed Columbia University philosophy professor. He addressed his class in a manner that no real lecturer would, speaking in over-written prose found only in bad novels - and poorer made-for-TV films. The subjects matter he seemed to cover was so eclectic and with such a tenuous connection to any school of philosophy that I wondered if the script writer was having a joke at the audience's - or academia's - expense.

The concept of one incident linking various disparate individuals, and thus illustrating aspects of life - or in this case New York city - is so over-used that it will now only succeed with a better than average script. Unfortunately, despite the reasonably capable cast, this was a forlorn exercise.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 January 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Anesthesia

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,747, 10 January 2016

Gross USA:

$32,163

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$78,270

Company Credits

Production Co:

Grand Schema, Hello Please, Nicholson International Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1