2008 Woodie Awards
This movie may leave you counting in suspense
Ericka Christensen
Issue date: 3/7/07 Section: Opinion
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"The Number 23" bounces between two stories, one in the real world, the other a parallel story from a novel that the Walter (Jim Carrey) is reading. The transitioning is accomplished sophisticatedly, in both senses of the term, with concision and also with stylistic flair. The movie really works, even though it always keeps moving, it never feels headlong or rushed.
The film is not another unbelievable thriller like the Ring. This movie is believable and suspenseful. It keeps the audience engrossed in it the whole time and wondering what is going to happen next.
It tells the story of a man who becomes obsessed with the number 23. It's an obsession that comes virtually out of nowhere. Jim Carrey plays a seemingly happy-go-lucky dogcatcher, and the only hint that there's something askew about him is his constant stubble and a bad haircut that suggests a man without a woman in his life. In fact, he's married to a nice lady, played by Virginia Madsen.
Unfortunately, this seemingly perfect wife happens to pick up the wrong novel in a used bookstore, about a detective who sees 23 everywhere and believes the number is out to get him. She gives the novel to her husband to read, and he starts seeing weird parallels between himself and the detective in the story. And, no surprise, he starts developing his own obsession with 23, seeing the number everywhere.
You might, too. "The Number 23" has a nutty insistence about it that could inspire paranoia in latent cases. Even the healthiest among us will, within 23 hours or so of seeing the movie, start adding up addresses and birthdays to see if they come out to ... that number.
Schumacher does something interesting with the picture's look. In the beginning, the real world is brightly lit and the world of the novel, introduced in an artful and not viable (computer-generated) tracking shot, is dark and baleful. And then, slyly, as the film progresses, the two worlds start looking alike. Of course, this parallels the change in Walter's consciousness, as he transforms from a most happy fellow to a driven, paranoid fanatic.
"The Number 23" makes good use of Carrey's fluent but distant quality, that affable but incomprehensible essence that hints at something tormented and out of control behind his smile. Yet, the one ingredient that he doesn't quite bring to the film is a sinister vibe. Watching Carrey, it's easy to believe he's nuts, but something benevolent within him makes it difficult to see him as completely wicked. Still, this is a trivial objection. Carrey owns this movie. He's in virtually every scene, and there's no taking your eyes from him.
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