The Number 23

Review By: Stephen Snart
StephenSnart@TheCinemaSource.com

Now here’s a bizarre film.

Directed by the wildly erratic schlock-meister Joel Schumacher, The Number 23 is a dark thriller about literature-induced paranoia. The surprisingly cast film features comedy superstar Jim Carrey, recent Oscar-nominee Virginia Madsen and supporting actor dû jour Danny Huston (The Proposition, Children of Men, Marie Antoinette). Despite its high-profile cast, it’s very squarely a B-movie and its wide theatrical release seems largely due to Carrey’s star power and New Line Cinema CEO Robert Shaye’s penchant for horror films.

Carrey plays Walter Sparrow, a happily married animal control minion who finds himself consumed by a mysterious novel that his wife, Agatha (Madsen), gives him for his thirty-second birthday. The book is an intriguing detective story of sorts but Walter’s interest is vested in the uncanny parallels he notices between himself and the lead character; many of which stem from the different mutations of the number 23.

Obsessed with finding out the history behind the self-published, self-printed work by an untraceable author, Walter seeks advice from literary professor and family friend Isaac (Huston) who offers some rhetorical musings (memories of Dustin Hoffman’s similar performance in last year’s Stranger than Fiction abound) but nothing conclusive. More productive are his 23-based conspiracy theories that lead him in several different directions. But as he unravels the supposed mystery behind the text, his behavior becomes increasingly aberrant.

Like The Jacket, The Butterfly Effect and so many other high-concept, mental anguish thrillers destined to play most effectively on late night cable TV, The Number 23 presents a stirring and engrossing initial two/thirds but buckles during its final act. What had been playful and well intentioned camp gives way to cackle-inducing confessionals and self-parodying imagery. The most detrimental aspects being Carrey’s heavy-handed voiceover and Schumacher’s decision to frequently return to shots of a pesky dog named Ned.

Even though things fall apart pretty severely during its ham-fisted conclusion, it’s important to remember the effectiveness of the film’s first two/thirds. Schumacher is a skilled dispenser of creepiness and morbidity – as proven previously in Flatliners and The Lost Boys – and he coats the film with an appropriate oil of visual distinction while infusing a consistent sense of paranoia. The script by Fernley Phillips takes the viewer in some unexpected directions and the New Line publicity team deserves praise for not revealing everything in its theatrical trailer.

Despite the generic constraints becoming oppressive in the conclusion, The Number 23 still serves as a kooky entry in the realm of late night Sci-Fi channel repeats. Secondly, and more subtly, it manages to effectively create a recognizable depiction of what it can be like to find oneself consumed by