- Actors: Sam Waterston, Kristen Stewart
- Director: Tim Blake Nelson
- Format: Widescreen
- Language: English
- Region: Region A/1
- Number of discs: 1
- Rated: R
- Studio: MPI HOME VIDEO
- Release Date: June 21, 2016
- Run Time: 90 minutes
Tim Blake
Nelson’s Anesthesia utilizes a format
seen often before, linking several strangers together through a coincidental
series of events or accidental intersections. Sometimes this is used to show a
sampling of characters within an environment. In Gus Van Sant’s Elephant, it was a high school, though
more often than not it tends to be a specific city. The story in Anesthesia takes place primarily in Manhattan (all except one subplot),
but the comments about humanity in have no location in mind. Even if the movie
takes place in New York,
it is relatable to all Americans.
Anesthesia is a somewhat confounding
title until more is exposed about each of the characters and the connection is
discovered. Each of them has some form of addiction for self placation. Columbia philosophy
professor Walter (Sam Waterston) may be the exception, though he does admit to
having thrived off of the adorations of his students for decades. One of his
most promising students, Sophie (Kristen Stewart), opens up to Walter and
exposes her own compulsion towards self mutilation, whereas his spoiled
grandchildren (Hannah Marks and Ben Konigsberg) are exposed as chronic
marijuana users by their parents, Jill and Adam (Jessica Hecht and Tim Blake
Nelson).
Seemingly unrelated to Walter is
suburban housewife, Sarah (Gretchen Mol) who is called out by her children
(Jacqueline Baum and Ekatarina Samsonov) for drinking too much during the
suspicious absence of her husband (Corey Stoll). There is also a heroin addict
named Joe (K. Todd Freeman), who is being forced into detox by his childhood
friend, Jeffrey (Michael Kenneth Williams). Jeffrey’s drug of choice seems to
be success, as he leaves his suffering friend behind in order to work.
To say the film is about self
medication would be an oversimplification, because it is really a movie about
the reasons that we numb ourselves. It’s a film about the questions we would
rather not have to ask ourselves, not just the ways we distract ourselves from
them. And these questions are verbalized often by a number of the different
characters in this dialogue heavy screenplay. Fortunately, Nelson’s script
handles the dialogue better than some of the other story elements. I was
somewhat under-satisfied with the overall film, but this is primarily because
of how well the individual scenes captured my interest. I was compelled to the
point that I felt myself wishing this were the beginning of a TV series rather
than a film heading down a predictable yet unsatisfying ending.
Much of what compelled me was the
acting. Some credit must be given to Nelson for the directing and the
intelligently written dialogue for each character, but he also managed to
compile a talented group of actors for the cast (which also includes Glenn Close).
The layered performances had me longing for more from most of them, while
others seemed a bit underdeveloped and could have used more time. With a brisk
90-minute run-time, the film could have afforded a bit more time for some
characters, or the removal of a few of them entirely. Flawed as Anesthesia may be, it is a film made
with sincerity and heart that deeply moved me upon watching it. Sometimes this
is better than perfection.
The sole Blu-ray special feature is
the trailer. The high definition presentation offers a crispness not entirely
necessary with this type of film, though I will admit that it is beautifully
shot with the precision of a confident filmmaker.
Entertainment Value:
7.5/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 7/10
Historical
Significance: 6/10
Special Features: 1/10
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