Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1129 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-07-23
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 94 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Jim Carrey as a schizophrenic murderer isn't convincing, in this melodramatic film about a man obsessed by the Number 23. Joel Schumacher (Batman Forever, St. Elmo's Fire) has unintentionally managed to make a comedy of horrors that really is quite humorous in parts. Walter Sparrow (Carrey) becomes engrossed in a homespun novel about Detective Fingerling, whose life degrades into mayhem because of his obsession with 23's esoteric numerical puzzles. Sparrow's preoccupation with the book follows his botched attempt to catch a nasty dog that bites him, leading one to believe that Sparrow's contraction of rabies might be the cause for his mental degradation. As the story progresses, Sparrow retreats further into Fingerling's world, rife with suicidal sexpots and hardboiled detective sleuthing. His wife, Agatha (Virginia Madsen), also plays Fingerling's girlfriend, sex-crazed Fabrizia, who taunts Fingerling until he stabs her. Back in reality, Walter aims to solve the unresolved crimes in the book, taking it as a murderer's diary rather than as an imagined work. The story is half-baked, though Carrey's portrayal of a mentally disturbed person is what makes The Number 23 comedic. Long, contemplative stares, and over-dramatized acting renders Sparrow a clichéd character, rather than one odd enough to engage viewers. For a better version of almost the exact plot but with a terrorist's twist, see Thr3e instead. --Trinie Dalton

Synopsis
In Joel Schumacher’s psychological thriller THE NUMBER 23, Jim Carrey takes on another dramatic role. Carrey’s character is similar to his roles in THE TRUMAN SHOW and ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND: he portrays an average man thrust into quite extraordinary situations after a series of strange events cause him to question everything he’s ever taken for granted. On his birthday, Walter Sparrow is given a mysterious and tattered book called THE NUMBER 23 by his loving wife, Agatha (Virginia Madsen). As Walter reads the book, he quickly notices its alarming similarities to his own life. Rather than stop reading, he continues, unknowingly inviting the book to take over his life. The deeper Walter gets into the plot, the more he sees himself in its protagonist, Fingerling, whom we see through highly stylized sequences in which Carrey appears as the seedy detective character. Madsen is also present in these scenes, cast as Fingerling’s pain-loving girlfriend Fabrizia. As Fingerling and Fabrizia’s love affair inches towards its fiery conclusion, we learn the role the number 23 has played in their story and will play in Walter’s future if he cannot keep his growing obsession with it at bay. While Carrey and Madsen are adept at playing a man gone mad and a headstrong wife in crisis, they are most fascinating as their dark counterparts, and Schumacher succeeds in creating a truly intoxicating noirish underworld of sex and death through those sequences.

Customer Reviews

Kept me hooked
I had no idea what this film was about as someone recommended I watch it. Recently I've ended up fast forwarding through quite a few rented movies and so it was a pleasure to be glued to a film without constantly looking to see how much longer was left. I thought Jim Carrey was excellent and the story kept me hooked until the end always wondering how it was going to turn out. The atmosphere was atmospheric and the flashbacks almost Sin City like, I thought. It's the kind of film that draws you in and I can only imagine the people who rated this poor were just not in the correct frame of mind for a film like this.

Quality
I was and still am i fan of jim careys comedy films and had never seen in a role different and it worked. The storyline is good but can be confusing in places (i had to watch it 2 times lol). Bu it made me think about 23 which is weird but my name didnt fit. I was suprised how brilliant the movie was and would recommend it.

Very disappointing
`The Number 23' is about a dog catcher named Walter (Jim Carrey) who is given a book for his birthday about the life of a man named "Fingerling" and his obsession with how everything is related to the number 23. After reading just a few pages Walter begins to believe that the story is written about his life due to so many similarities and then he also starts to become obsessed with the number 23 too.

This is a very dark and serious role for the rubber-faced Carrey and he does actually play the part very well, but the film is just pretty bad in general with nothing that really surprised me, excited me or made me really think I'd ever watch it again. I'm a big fan of thriller films and books and the story is ok but it's just filmed in such a strange way that I just couldn't put my finger on what I didn't like about it, it just didn't meet my expectations at all as it had the potential to be a really good psychological thriller.

Overall I think this is one that is worth watching if you catch it on TV or borrow it from someone, but I'd not recommend buying it as you won't watch it again. Very disappointing and it could have been so much better.

The whole number 23 theories did however get me thinking a lot and since watching this I've thought of so many things which have worked out to be that mysterious number. Spooky!