When I first heard about The Number 23, I knew that I was going to see it whether it reviewed well or not. Much like the main character, I am drawn to the number, for years it has marked the passage of time and ticked away my life's accomplishments and failures. It demands my attention, and there is no way to ignore it. It has this power over me, it is always watching over me, like a stone gargoyle high atop a cathedral, or the way of murder of crows moves about the sky closely watching the movement beneath. Numbers hold power, they contain the secrets of the universe, there is no escaping it, and 23 is their leader, the captain of captains, the cornerstone keeping all others in check. If you take a minute and search within yourself, you will find the truth, 23 is the key to unlocking all things.
The story centers on Walter Sparrow, a dog catcher, with a loving family. On his birthday, his wife buys him a book called, what else, The Number 23. At first, Walter has no interest in reading it, but soon enough he starts to read through it. As he reads it, he becomes convinced that it is really about him, that someone has taken the events of his life and turned them into a thinly veiled work of fiction. The further he reads, the more pages he turns, the more he becomes utterly convinced that it is his life, and everything it contains is the truth. With this realization, he sets out to find the author and whatever secrets he may hold.
While the plot feels recycled, there is very nice use of style, and narrative device to propel the plot, proving that when director Joel Schumacher is on, he's on. It doesn't hurt that Carrey effortlessly slips into the dual roles of the obssessive Walter, and the hard boiled Fingerling. That leads to the strongest part of the film, the overlapping tale of Walter's obsession with the book and the number, and the dark, tattooed tough guy Detective Fingerling. The neo-noir of Fingerling (the main character in the book The Number 23) is wonderfully shot and realized, even if Fingerling is the only interesting character. Carrey does a good job of displaying both the tough, gritty character, and the unbalanced Walter, creating two sides of a single coin.
Bottomline. In the end, the film is an interesting experiment in non-funny Carrey. The narrative may not hold together upon close inspection, yet it does have a nicely stylish execution with its dual tales. There was plenty of potential, partially realized, resulting in a middling thriller that may be a little too stylish for its own good.
Mildly Recommended.
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