The Number 23 (2007)

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Walter Sparrow/Fingerling	Jim Carrey	½
Agatha Sparrow/Fabrizia	Virginia Madsen	½
Robin Sparrow	Logan Lerman	½
Isaac French/Dr. Miles Phoenix	Danny Huston	½
Suicide Blonde/Mrs. Dobkins/Mother	Lynn Collins
Laura Tollins	Rhona Mitra
Swain	Laurence Fishburne

Review

Seeing as Joel Schumacher is helming the project, one shouldn't be overly expectant when it comes to the ingenuity. And even if this is a film that explicitly (or is it implicitly?) mostly concerns numbers, it definitely isn't out to revolutionise mathematics. Jim Carrey stars as an amiable father and husband who, after coming across a book about the number 23, finds himself increasingly fascinated, and ultimately obsessed, with the concept that every answer in this world boils down to 23. Additionally, he finds his life a parallel to that of the protagonist in the book, something that fuels his interest to track down the book's obscure writer.

Carrey is believable in the lead, looking great in Schumacher's parallel visualisation, which in turn is elegant in crisp, contrastive colours. The film takes itself seriously, initially overly so, when it seems to be of the opinion that it might me more clever than it is. The film has its fair share of stupid, banal elements. However, as we approach the conclusive part, Schumacher shows patience and deftness in summing up and balancing his film. The script by Fernley Phillips won't blow you off your seat, but it also isn't cheating on you, and towards the end it gets increasingly more psychologically interesting, making The Number 23 a fair and sometimes both enjoyable and interesting thriller.