"Anesthesia" Movie Review

Anesthesia is more than just a movie. It's an experience, a window into everyday life that goes unnoticed by most people. There's one particular theme that resonates throughout the film and that theme is that life is short, even if you live 60 plus years.

The film is not one direct story, but several. Multiple lives intersect and Walter Zarrow (Sam Waterston) is at the center of it all. Walter is a literary teacher at a college. Many of his students find him inspiring and intellectual. One student, however, feels that she is beyond help. She feels that so many people are more concerned with their devices that they can't live. She wants interaction and to be able to enjoy other people for who they are, not for what they can do on a phone or computer. So, she burns herself with a curling iron just to feel some rush that she can't get from anyone else. Her story is just one of many that makes this film thought-proving and intelligent.

The writing is sublime and the acting portrays it beautifully. The viewer instantly feels as if he or she is a part of each of these people's lives. Sometimes you want to give a character a hug and sometimes you want to punch one in the face. The stories are all laid out realistically, however, sometimes the scenes switch back and forth so quickly that it is difficult to become emotionally invested in anyone other than Walter. Perhaps that's what the director wanted, as Walter has the most life-changing story of all.

In conclusion, I give this film high praise. The beauty hidden in each of these stories makes one stop and realize: one man can make a difference. Life is short. Use yours to help, not to hinder, Everyone has problems and issues. Sometimes 'help' can be the hardest word to say, especially when you feel alone. I wish there were more people out there like Walter Zarrow, who would stop at nothing to improve the lives around him. I give the film a 4 out of 4.