The Number 23 (2007)

Walter Sparrow becomes obsessed with a novel that he believes was written about him. As his obsession increases, more and more similarities 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

Details

Official Sites:

New Line Cinema [United States]

Country:

Germany USA

Language:

English Chinese

Release Date:

23 February 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Número 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:

$77,566,815

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:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The name on the characters work truck is animal control department, which all letters equal to 23.

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Goofs

(at around 37 mins) A segment in the opening credits states that the Mayans believed the world would end on December 23, 2012, while in the film, Danny Huston's character reads that the Mayans believed that the world would end on December 12, 2012. In actuality, the Mayans did not believe the world would end in December 2012; they believed a new world would be created. (The date of this is still widely disputed as well, with some sources placing the date as December 21, 2012.)

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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

Featured in Number 23: Focus Points (2009)

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Soundtracks

Blue Christmas
Written by Billy Hayes (as Bill Hayes) and Jay Johnson (as Jay W. Johnson)
Performed by Dean Martin
Courtesy of Capitol Records
Under license from EMI Film & Television Music

User Reviews

The Number 23

I like Jim Carrey, not because he is a comedian, but because he emerged as a serious actor in attempting to select good roles that will give him the variety of dimensions to display his talent.

The story of the movie is about a happy married man Walter Sparrow (Jim Carrey) and his wife Agatha (Virginia Madsen) and son Robin (Logan Lerman). One day as a gift his wife presents him with a novel The Number 23. On reading it Walter realizes the similarities the novel has with his life. The novel turns out to be a thriller with a murder mystery. Walter gets engaged into the paranoia of number 23 and tries to find a running parallel in real life to identify the characters and solve the murder mystery. Like a detective Walter traces the murderer and unknown writer of the novel. One clue leads to another, and another – until the end, the real murderer is exposed. I won't tell you the secret. Just a clue that the novel is written by someone named Topsy Eret.

The narrative of the movie is a bit puzzling, and I think the Director Joel Schumacher must have intentionally worked on it that way. Why I say this is because after the movie got over, I had the urge to see the movie again to understand the early half properly, and get more clarity in why the story is told in this manner and how the events are unfolded. But will I go and see the movie again, not really.

The movie is good, but not brilliant. It eclipse on the fringe areas of brilliance but falls shorts due to its direction. In the past Joel Schumacher has struggled to make commercially successful movie even with a good storyline on his hand. Here too he flounders. The saving grace of this thriller is one and only – Jim Carrey, who carries the whole burden of this movie on his shoulder, and makes us believe in the magical number 23.

After seeing the movie, I remembered my Dad who has paranoia of number 5. The amazing past time my Dad and Mom together had was when they found ways to add, subtract, multiply and divide any number to arrive at an answer that was 5. It is a unique ability and obviously paranoia. But it is amusing.

The same paranoia has been presented here with a mysterious thriller storyline. To some extend the director achieves success to telling us this novel story of number 23.

Jim Carrey looks haggard with age, but has played the character brilliantly. Virginia Madsen and Logan Lerman have acted decently but nothing worth historic to mention here.

Go and see it if you are a Jim Carrey fan or if you have a fascination for NUMBERS, both ways you will enjoy this movie.

(Stars 6 out of 10)