Movie Review: The Number 23

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. There certainly aren't 23 of them.

"The Number 23" is a thriller about Walter Sparrow - an average joe with an average job, a loving wife, and a typical teenage son. Until his wife picks up a book at the second-hand store (located, of course, at 599 - 5+9+9=23) that sounds as if the author knew everything about Walter when he wrote it. Obsessed with the book and this new found fascination with the number 23 Walter quickly finds himself becoming paranoid and spiraling out of control.

The concept is intriguing and thought-provoking. The movie, however, is very slow moving. As Walter began February 6th I found myself desperately hoping that we weren't going to go to February 23 in this movie. The beginning really hooks the viewer into watching, but about halfway through I began to wonder where this was all going. I never really recovered from that feeling. By the end I found myself wondering why it took so long to get where we ended.

More interesting to me than the plot or even the fate of Walter as his story dragged on was the appearance of 23 in odd places in the movie. My husband and I found more interest in finding the hidden 23's throughout the scenes then what was actually happening in the scenes themselves. Not only is there the number on the bookstore Agatha visits, but there's the telephone number for the King Edward Hotel Walter stays at: 555-1232. Not only is there a 23 and a 32 (a reverse 23) in the second half of the number, but 5+5+5+1+2+3+2 is equal to 23. It's those little nuances that compelled me to watch to the end. Overall, though, it's just not enough to make it a good movie; just a good trivia piece.

I found it most hilarious that the main character's son, Robin's full name would be "Robin Sparrow". That still strikes me as funny.

I always find it intriguing to watch an actor known for one genre to see how well he/she does out of his/her element. Despite my unhappiness with the movie itself I still enjoyed Jim Carrey and Virginia Madsen's performances. While this isn't necessarily one of Jim Carrey's first dramatic roles, I still consider him a comedian first. His performance here was still outstanding and his scenes were well-done. Virginia Madsen is always beautiful; her performance as both Sparrow's wife and Fingerling's lover is as probably the most riveting of the portrayals. Still, it's just not enough to pull together a sloppy movie set-up.

If you liked the movie "Ninth Gate" then you may like "The Number 23". If, however, you feel movies with cheap plot hooks and muddied story lines are a waste of time you may want to skip this one.