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:

bookstore | author | numerology | obsession | detective | 

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Taglines:

First it takes hold of your mind...then it takes hold of your life.

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Genres:

Drama | 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:

USA Germany

Language:

English Chinese

Release Date:

23 February 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Número 23

Filming Locations:

Cocoa Beach, Florida, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$32,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,206,087 (UK) (23 February 2007)

Gross:

$35,063,732 (USA) (23 March 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Contrafilm, Firm Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min 98 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

SDDS DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The main character, Sparrow, had an obsession with the saxophone. The standard, student sax has 23 keys without the neck. But, with the neck, which one needs to play the sax, the student sax has 24 keys. Nowadays student saxes come with an added high F# key, so they have 25.

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Goofs

in the movie, Walter sparrow was turning 32, their son is aged 13/14. but Walter sparrow said that he met her wife when he was 23, how could their son be 13/14?

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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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Connections

Featured in Phelous & the Movies: Jeepers Creepers (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Tear You Apart"
Written by Justin Warfield and Adam Bravin
Performed by She Wants Revenge
Courtesy of Geffen Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

"The Number 23" – Interesting Concept but Lackluster Result

I had heard terrible things about this movie before watching it so luckily I went into the viewing with low expectations. While it wasn't as bad as some people were making it out to be, it was nothing special either. What boggled my mind is that there was actually potential to make a quality film here but it wasn't utilized. This was stupid since there's so many historical experiences and anecdotes that deal with the number 23 theory. The historic ones make sense but the formulas conjured up for the movie were absolutely ridiculous. They completely overlooked any real laws of mathematics and apparently the theorist could apply any rule he wanted to over and over again to obtain the results he was looking for.

However there was some good to this disappointing feature. I liked how a main concept was that an obsessive person could formulate anything because they'll keep going until they see what they want to see. This essentially shows that most conspiracy theories have probably came to being through acts of compulsion and really aren't based off of concrete facts. The twist ending was also fairly original but due to the heavy saturation of twist endings audiences have been bombarded with these past five years, it didn't really have much of an effect on me. As for acting, Jim Carrey was very impressive and he really carried the weight of the film on his shoulders. Even though he's often overlooked by the industry each year, he can really take on an incredible dramatic role and is probably the best actor out of all the comics to this day. He also teaches his son sound moral judgments throughout and exemplifies what a good father should be. All the other performers were suitable but no one else really stood out.

Joel Schumacher has turned out to be such a heinous filmmaker that it'll be forever beyond me why studios keep hiring him to direct. "The Number 23" was supposed to be suspenseful, and it was really anything but. The murder mystery aspect didn't hold my attention and I really could've cared less what was happening in those regards. The plot was confusing and the beginning contained so much unnecessary filler that it seemed to go on for way longer than its runtime. I absolutely hated the Fingerling scenes and thought they were pure drivel. They exemplified absurdity in its purest form and it was if they came out of some cheesy made-for-TV erotica flick on a late night premium channel.

There is absolutely no way I could recommend to anyone that this is a movie they should catch in the theater and hesitate to do so for even a rental. Unless you're still one of the unduly shrinking Carrey fan base or you enjoy any kind of paranoia theme there is no matter how dull it is along the way, then you'll do better off checking something else out and not wasting your time with this muck. This was a perfect example of an ending that puts together a twist just for the sake of having a twist, and it really showed. Connections were made that were obviously purely coincidental and no justice was done to an intriguing question that has plagued man over time. If only the film was only 23 minutes long, that's one enigma I could've lived with…and it would've been a better movie for it too.