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 | break up | reference to the new york daily news the newspaper | newspaper | 

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Taglines:

Who we don't know can save us

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 January 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Crímenes y virtudes

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,747, 10 January 2016, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$22,386, 31 January 2016

Company Credits

Production Co:

Grand Schema, Hello Please, Nicholson International Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Tim Blake Nelson had wanted to make the film since the 1980's.

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Quotes

Joe: Simplicity of the divine.
Prof. Walter Zarrow: You've read Augustine?
Joe: Not everything.
Prof. Walter Zarrow: Don't worry. No one has.
Joe: And in translation too.
Prof. Walter Zarrow: I'd be lying if I said I didn't need a moment to process where this conversation has suddenly veered.

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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

Gone the Bells
Performed by Cotton Jones
Courtesy of Suicide Squeeze Records, by arrangement with Sub Pop Licensing
Written by Michael Nau, Whitney McGraw
Published by Portable and Affordable Songs;
Administered by Secretly Canadian Publishing

User Reviews

Life is a pain

And the only escape from the pain of life is total sensory deprivation! And this is what this story focuses on; those people in society who seek to escape the pain of living and the unintended or intended effect it has on the people in society who manage to live their daily life pain or not.

Each character has their own story and most of them are unhappy, mentally fragile, or have fallen into the pit of substance abuse. Only one 'the professor' seem to be truly happy in his life and of course by movies end he suffers the most. We have seen other movies with this format where what appears to be people living separate lives eventually converge due to one event.

'Anesthesia' is an OK movie well acted and edited and scripted. The story will keep your interest but at movies end - that's it. It ends and you get the message. It's a take it or leave it flick for me!