The Number 23 (2007)

Walter Sparrow becomes obsessed with a novel that he believes was written about him, as more and more similarities between himself and his literary alter ego seem to arise.

Director:

Joel Schumacher

Writer:

Fernley Phillips

Stars:

Jim Carrey, Virginia Madsen, Logan Lerman

5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jim Carrey	...	Walter Sparrow / Fingerling
Virginia Madsen	...	Agatha Sparrow / Fabrizia
Logan Lerman	...	Robin Sparrow
Danny Huston	...	Isaac French / Dr. Miles Phoenix
Lynn Collins	...	Suicide Blonde / Mrs. Dobkins / Young Fingerling's Mother
Rhona Mitra	...	Laura Tollins
Michelle Arthur	...	Sybil
Mark Pellegrino	...	Kyle Flinch
Paul Butcher	...	Young Fingerling / Young Walter
David Stifel	...	Hotel Clerk
Corey Stoll	...	Sergeant Burns
Ed Lauter	...	Father Sebastian
Troy Kotsur	...	Barnaby
Walter Soo Hoo	...	Chinese Restaurant Owner
Patricia Belcher	...	Dr. Alice Mortimer

Storyline

On his birthday, Walter Sparrow, an amiable dog-catcher, takes a call that leaves him dog bit and late to pick up his wife. She's browsed in a bookstore, finding a blood-red-covered novel, a murder mystery with numerology that loops constantly around the number 23. The story captivates Walter: he dreams it, he notices aspects of his life that can be rendered by "23," he searches for the author, he stays in the hotel (in room 23) where events in the novel took place, and he begins to believe it was no novel. His wife and son try to help him, sometimes in sympathy, sometimes to protect him. Slowly, with danger to himself and to his family, he closes in on the truth.

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Plot Keywords:

detective | obsession | murder | flashback | book | 

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Taglines:

A number is just a number. Or is it?

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Genres:

Crime | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, disturbing images, sexuality and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Danny Houston says of the book, "Of course there are far too few books where the main character plays the saxophone." He went on to play the Axeman, a jazz saxophonist, in American Horror Story: Coven

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Goofs

(at around 1h 1 min) When Walter Sparrow enters in the post office while Dr. Sirius Leary is opening the boxes, we can clearly see sheets of Neutral Density filters placed on the windows behind Walter Sparrow.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Walter Sparrow: A week ago, the only thing I thought was out of the ordinary was that it was my birthday.

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Alternate Versions

Unrated version runs 3-4 minutes longer.

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Connections

Referenced in Nostalgia Critic: Angry Video Game Nerd Rant: Part 2 (2008)

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Soundtracks

The Banality of Evil
Written by David Sylvian and Burnt Friedman (as Bernd Friedmann)
Performed by Nine Horses
Courtesy of Samadhisound LLC

User Reviews

Nice performance by Jim Carrey.

It was a full time pass movie. You will not feel sleepy at any time. Just one simple idea of the film related to the number 23 was absurd. In whole of the movie Jim Carrey was shown obsessed with the number 23. And that he was relating everything in his life to that number but some comparisons were really absurd because you can apply a number of permutations and combinations to get to your number. And that was the weakest point in the film. Keeping that aside if you would look into the story than it is nice. Talking about the acting, Jim Carrey as Walter has certainly done his job properly but another thing that looked unnecessary was the involvement of his son – Robin , which was I think to make up the movie a little bit longer. He really had not much to do. The movie is watchable because of a nice performance by Jim Carrey however average was the script.

VERDICT: "A recommended watch."

Details

Official Sites:

WarnerBros.com

Country:

USA

Language:

English Chinese

Release Date:

23 February 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Number 23

Filming Locations:

Pasadena, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$15,107,000, 25 February 2007

Gross USA:

$35,193,167

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$77,677,553

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Contrafilm, Firm Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min 101 min (extended)

Sound Mix:

SDDS DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1