THE NUMBER 23

"It's all about the number"

When Walter Sparrow (Carrey) receives a novel for his birthday he never realised that a book would have such an effect on him. As he reads he uncovers that with every turn of the page the story that is been told seems to be based on his life. There is one constant throughout however is the number 23 but as Walter becomes more obsessed with discovering what the book and the number means as it could affect his family.

Jim Carrey has never been afraid of trying to show there is more to his talents than just comedy but can 'The Number 23' really push him to another level.

After making his name as a comedic actor and becoming one of Hollywood's biggest stars, Jim Carrey can basically chose what roles he wants to do. While doing the box office friendly comedy fair, every now and again he chooses a role that makes you sit up and take notice. With movies like 'The Truman Show', 'Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind', 'Man on the Moon' and 'The Majestic', he has tried and in most cases shown that there is more to him than just funny faces and weird voices.

As Walter Sparrow and the visualisation of the main character in the novel, Fingerling, he gets the chance to try his hand at drama. This is a story of obsession and one that needs to played as a pure psychological drama. Jim Carrey steps up and tries to be noticed and to a point, he succeeds. As a father and husband, who is given the book for his birth, he is very convincing. Even in the dramatisation of the story he is reading, he is also extremely convincing as police detective Fingerling. The role really gives him the chance to prove that he is an actor that can play very different characters but the problem is that the script lets him down.

The premise and set up for the story of 'The Number 23' draws you into the tale and offers many a twist and turn but it is the finale that really lets the movie down. The intrigue of the number 23 and the connections and links that it the story bring up will fascinate you and draw you into what is happening to Walter and his family. As you try and guess what it means and as the plot successfully takes you down many a different road and many a dead end, when it finally reveals what it is all about you will feel extremely let down.

With good support from the always excellent Virginia Madsen and the actor Danny Huston, who excels in playing characters you love to hate, Jim Carrey does prove that he can make a move into psychological but he needed a better scripted finale to really push this home. Director Joel Schumacher also continues to bury the memory of 'Batman & Robin'. 'The Number 23' could have been much more than this but instead we just have a psychological drama by the numbers.

Not Available

The Skeleton Key

---

The Usher Home | Hush, Hush... | The Big Story | The Usher Speaks

Stuck @ Home | Coming Soon | Links | Contact the Usher

2007