Professor Walter Zarrow (Sam Waterston) and another man are attacked on the streets of New York. Sam (Corey Stoll) comes to his side as he lies dying. Walter was bringing his weekly flowers to his wife Marcia (Glenn Close). His son Adam (Tim Blake Nelson) is dealing with his wife Jill (Jessica Hecht)'s cancer scare. Their kids Hal (Ben Konigsberg) and Ella (Hannah Marks) are dealing with sex issues while smoking weed on the roof. Walter's student Sophie (Kristen Stewart) is struggling with self-harm. Jeffrey (Michael Kenneth Williams) is desperate to force Joe (K. Todd Freeman) into drug treatment. Sarah (Gretchen Mol) is a soccer mom struggling with buried anger. These characters weave a tapestry of interconnected lives.The cast is top level. They deliver fine individual scenes. There is a compelling drive to uncover the connection between the characters. The connections aren't as poignant as it needs to be. The extended mugging section should come a little earlier so that the characters have more space to deal with the consequences. There is plenty of good acting. The plot is interesting although not the most compelling.

Anesthesia offers various pros, but I have to say it didn't leave me totally satisfied. On the positive side, the performances are excellent. From veterans such as Sam Waterston and Glenn Close to youngsters like Hannah Marks and Ben Konigsberg, everyone makes a perfect work, and there isn't a single weak link in the cast. My favorite character of the film was the one played by Waterston, not only due to his intelligence and humbleness, but also because he says the powerful monologue which encompasses the multiple themes of the movie. However, I think director and screenwriter Tim Blake Nelson (who is also part of the cast) wasn't able to integrate the sub-plots into a consistent story. I guess that, as an actor/filmmaker, his main interest was capturing honest dramatic moments, bringing the necessary material to make the actors stand out. That's a valid strategy, but, at the same time, I think he sacrificed the narrative cohesion of the whole movie, and as a consequence, the individual scenes are much more interesting than the whole experience. Despite that and the occasional artistic pretensions, Anesthesia is deep and entertaining enough to capture the audience's attention. In the "interlocking stories" movie category, Anesthesia is definitely far from the level of Magnolia, Crash (2004) or Pulp Fiction, but I would place it on par with other indie productions such as The Air I Breathe, 11:14 or Playing by Heart. Like those films, Anesthesia can be enjoyed for a moment, in order to immediately become trivia we will eventually forget.

It is not great, but still a good film. Starred in an important role and directed by Tim Blake Nelson. I think he also wrote it decently that remind us similar classics. A multi-layered narrative, where everyone has connections or meets at one stage of the story. It sets in one fine evening followed by a mysterious tragedy. Then the story moves back in time for days to introduce all the characters and their intentions in the life. Different families dealing the different issues, but they all lead to that particular evening where it somewhere links them in and bring a fitting end with a twist.So when the film nears the final segment, the curious among us rises. The common mistake we make while predicting the end is once again certain when the final push successfully takes us by a surprise. I am not saying it is a masterstroke, but comparing with the rest of the film, it was good. An independent drama film, except some sexual and drug references, it can be watched by the adults and matured teens, but the pace might trouble you in some parts with slowing a bit. Actors were awesome. Since it is a multi-starrer, everyone had small screenspace, but excelled in that. The disappointment is Kristen Stewart, if you are going to expect more from her role. So the film lacks the star value. Having a good story, but not having the marketable stars made the film to sink deep bottom without a trace. Yep, as for now it needs more viewers, despite whatever result it produces. Other than that this film surely not bad as it was tagged. I will definitely recommend it.7/10

It's a series of short films tied together tightly to make one feature. Tim Black Nelson does a good job at directing himself and a group of strong actors in this film about dealing with the choices we make while living our lives, from a variety of different levels, which makes it such a perfect film about New York.Everyone was good, but I gravitate greatly towards the performance of Micheal K. Williams whose doing something far different than the roles that he's really known for. The whole movie was a masterpiece. Such an amazing set of stories being told.