movie review monday: the number 23

The Number 23

Upon acquiring a mysterious book in which the number "twenty-three" seems to take on powerful cosmic significance, a once-sane man gradually becomes obsessed with the idea that the frequently recurring number may in fact hold a deadly secret in this intense mystery thriller starring Jim Carrey and Virginia Madsen, and directed by Joel Schumacher. Walter Sparrow is a middle-aged dog catcher whose wife Agatha has bestowed him with an obscure mystery novel detailing the investigation launched by a tough-talking gumshoe named Fingerling whose every move seems to be overshadowed by the enigmatic eponymous number. After noting a series of alarming parallels shared between the fictional detective and himself, Walter is quickly drawn in to the story as the hard-boiled private investigator murders raven-wigged moll Fabrizia and pins the crime on her unsuspecting lover. Back in the real world, fiction seems to merge with reality as Walter and Agatha's close friend Isaac begins to ingratiate himself ever deeper into the couple's relationship and Walter begins experiencing a gruesome series of visions in which he violently murders an unfaithful Agatha. His mind fast descending into a dark and violent whirlwind of madness, Walter enlists the aid of Agatha and the pair's adolescent son Robin in seeking out the author of the mysterious tome and uncovering the sinister truth behind the so-called "23 enigma." ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Running Time: 1 hour 37 minutes

This movie is still in theaters and quite the enjoyable flick. Tense, but not too scary (I only like psychological thrillers, and do not like scary movies in the theater because I am a pansy). I saw it last week with K. We'd seen a preview for it AGES ago and I was intrigued because of the story line but also because it has Jim Carrey in it. He's really come a long way as a dramatic actor and I was curious to see what he would do with a thriller-ish movie. I wasn't disappointed.

There are twists and turns but if you watch this kind of movie or read this kind of book a lot, you may be able to guess how it ends. It didn't blow me out of the water, but I was so engrossed in just what was happening in general that I wasn't actively trying to guess what would be next. To me, this is the mark of a good thriller/suspense movie. There were a couple of parts where it was a little funnier than I think it was supposed to be because of Jim Carrey specfically overacting, but I liked it overall.

It's kind of funny though how well this movie displays the fact if you look for something hard enough, it will suddenly be all you can see and think about. I'm sure there are several life implications I could discuss here, but really, I'll just go with recommending the movie. It's worth a matinee ticket in the theater. Save the dough on the ticket and get yourself some popcorn. :)

Rating: 2.5 of 4 stars. A little bloody, a lot disturbing, but a good story and well acted (minus those few scenes here and there where you know you're supposed to laugh but you kind of do).