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

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

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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

Boogie Stop Shuffle
Performed by Charles Mingus
Courtesy of Columbia Records,
by arrangement with Sony Music Licensing
Written by Charles Mingus
Used by Permission of Spirit One Music
o/b/o Adams Avenue,
Flying Red Rhino, Jazz Workshop Inc. and The Mingus Music Werkshop

User Reviews

if you don't like philosophical, emotionally complicated, eloquent movies...

i'd DEFinitely say this movie is NOT for you...SURE it's flawed in ways i'd rather not discuss. i don't want you to be looking for the things that unsettled me. aside from the stories themselves. i've seen and see many, many movies. was born and raised in b'klyn, ny. this movie takes place in, mostly, manhattan(and places close enough to still be considered ny. although a commute away...). i rarely vote a score for a movie...but the ratings were ALmost low enough to dissuade me from seeing this. and that would've, truly, been a loss...i consider this movie to be a masterpiece in that it mixes lots of important thoughts and questions into the story. questions that need asking/addressing. i found it so thick with drama...or moments/conversation that i had to think about that i was almost overwhelmed. i was sooooo glad that i didn't see this in the movies. i had to stop it a number of times to absorb what had just happened...either emotionally or intellectually. and the cast! i can't believe NOTHING from this film was nominated ANYwhere...like i said, it IS flawed in certain respects...but overall? it's a 'wower'. but not a Hollywood movie. well...not a typical one, anyways...it's uncompromising in that it doesn't cater to being popular. though it IS successful in being ironically twisting in ways that'll make you feel like you've had a rough appointment at the chiropractor... some of the performances are noteworthy...and i think some of you will very much enjoy seeing actors you're familiar with(but don't know their names. yet...)from places like 'boardwalk empire' or 'buffy the vampire slayer'...falling skies/saints and sinners/mr robot...house of cards/the strain... i COULD go on. seriously. these are the 'lesser names'. but not performances... i haven't posted a movie review in quite a while...but i wanted no one else to ALmost miss this work of great storiestelling... and i ALSO, very much, wanted to thank those few reviewers that already posted reviews saying that it was good. you were the tipping points...