THE NUMBER 23
US, 2007,
Jim Carrey, Virginia Madsen, Logan Lerman, Danny Huston, Rhona Mitra, Lynn Collins, Mark Pellegrino, Bud Cort.
Directed by Joel Schumacher.
This is a very bizarre thriller which has a certain amount of intrigue value but which stretches credibility by the end. It is a brave attempt by Jim Carrey to do something different (which he did to good effect in The Truman Show, Man on the Moon and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), to be in a serious role. Perhaps the fans will be supportive but they might be convinced that he stay with comedy.
While he uses a number of characteristics of his funny roles, he gives a sustained performance as a man who is haunted by puzzling and horrifying dreams and who becomes desperate to know the truth about himself.
Who would have thought that the number 23 could be linked to so many strange phenomena – some of it does seem fanciful with combinations of 9 and 14, 19 and 5 etc. But, there is always the 23rd Psalm. There is a reference to Numbers 32:23 (now there’s a mysterious, mystic palindrome) which in fact, notes that our sins will find us out
Carrey is a happily married father of a young son, an animal catcher. On his birthday, one dog bites him and leads him to a cemetery and on a chase which upsets his equilibrium. Then his wife (Virginia Madsen) buys him a book, The Number 23, which he begins to read. The book, chapter by chapter, invades his life as well as providing something of a déjà vu experience. But, the book has no final chapter…
If it had stayed in the realm of the terror/horror genre, its over the top dreams and hauntings, paranoia and fears might have been satisfyingly mysterious, but the finale leads to a rational explanation (even though it seems also somewhat over the top).
Director Joel Schumacher is a set designer who moved into direction in the 1980s and has often ventured into these realms (The Lost Boys, Flatliners) while also directing some John Grisham adaptations (The Client and A Time for Killing) as well as two garish Batman films. His previous film was The Phantom of the Opera.
1. A psychological thriller? The story of obsession, madness, guilt and atonement?
2. The title, the number 23 and the variety of possibilities, combinations, reverses? The Book of Numbers 23: 32 and sin finding us out? Agatha and her commonsense perceptions of the numbers and relating to human experiences controlling the meaning of the numbers?
3. Jim Carrey and his career, audiences not responding well to this film? The work of Joel Schumacher and his direction and career?
4. The ordinary setting, animal catcher, the truck, Walter doing his rounds? The confrontation with the dog, the bite, going to the doctor? His birthday, going to Agatha’s shop, cake, the bookstore, buying the book for his birthday, going, home situation, love his son? The atmospheric score?
5. The photography styles, bright for ordinary life, colourful? Dark and surreal for the dreams, memories, fantasies?
6. Water, his character, ordinary work, the dog – and later driving tortured towards it and stopping just in time? Agatha, son, ordinary?
7. The gift of the book, Agatha having read it? Walter reading it, the doctor giving him the day off, his going to read the book, identifying with it? The story coming of life? Agatha as Fabrizia? Her role with Fingerling? The blonde woman, the dead woman on the bed, betrayal and her seductive character, interactions, death?
8. Agatha, talking plainly to Walter, allaying his fears? Robin, his interest in the number 23, wanting to assist his father?
9. Danny Huston as Isaac French and Dr Miles Phoenix, his role, advice and friendship – and sinister touches?
10. Water and his return to his childhood, the role of his father, death of his mother, the story books, Fingerling as the Detective, his finding the old book? His identifying with the Detective? Finding the box, the images? His father’s bequest and the Number 23?
11. Walter, the memories of Laura Tollins, love, her relationship with Kyle Flinch, going mad, cemetery and the issue of the skeleton and its removal by Agatha, the doctor and his death, the nightmares?
12. The book, his having written the book, his disbelief, uncovering the final chapter, the gradual surfacing of memories, his being in the institution, treated, coming out, meeting Agatha after his rehabilitation?
13. The discussions with Agatha, conscience, his having killed Laura, sense of guilt, confessing, going to prison, the support of the family, atoning?
14. The film, psychological, thriller, nightmare?
