A dark descent of the mind that almost makes it.

I had really been looking forward to this film because I get a kick out of seeing typically good guy actors take a turn on the dark side. Jim Carrey has typically played the happy, shiny character (with a few exceptions: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and maybe Truman Show) so watching him take on the black persona of Fingerling, the subject of his obsessive novel, The Number 23, was an interesting change of pace. Jim Carrey actually plays Walter Sparrow who projects himself upon the main character of the novel he is reading. The further he goes in the book the more convinced he becomes that the author has written this book about him. And the more convinced he becomes the more blurred the line gets between reality and fiction.

The movie jumps between Sparrow’s own life with his wife and son in suburbia to the dark toned realm of Detective Fingerling. The dark half of the movie reminds me a lot of Sin City in its visual settings mixed with the slight cheesiness of a 1920’s private investigator stereotypical delivery of lines. This semi-cheesy feeling doesn’t ruin the movie because it seems very intentional being the setting of the mysterious amateur author’s tale.

Overall the movie was enjoyable, but things do get stretched when everything in the story gets matched to the number 23. It felt like they tried to pull in a little Da Vinci Code mysticism with Sparrow’s realization of all the occurrences of 23 in history and nature. The ending was somewhat surprising but still somewhat confusing. If you want something like this, but without the dark tones I’d recommend waiting for Stranger than Fiction to be released on DVD. StF follows Will Ferrell’s character as he attempts to determine if he is the subject of a fictional story. Similar themes with very different deliveries.

Despite my draw to give it 3.5/4 stars (because (3+(5*4))=23) I’d have to say 2.5/4 stars. Jim Carrey played his role very well, but the story just never fully developed for me.

Starring: Jim Carrey and Virginia Madsen
Rated: R for violence, disturbing images, sexuality, and language
Duration: 1hr40mins

Check Prices for The Number 23