If you’re looking for the run-of-the-mill funny Jim Carrey movie, “The Number 23″ isn’t it.

Much like the “Truman Show” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” Carrey takes a serious turn in “The Number 23.”

He plays Walter Sparrow, an average American suburban man who makes his living as an animal control officer. For his birthday on Feb. 3 (2/3 – get it?) his wife, Agatha (played by Virgina Madsen) gets him a book called the Number 23. Walter becomes obsessed with the book, saying the main character, Fingerling (also played by Carrey) is a carbon copy of him. He begins to get paranoid from the book and the number 23.

The film has an interesting premise, and as directed by Joel Schumacher, is filmed beautifully (the credits are especially striking). However, Carrey just seems to be miscast in the role. Not just because normally he is being a clown in his films, but simply because we haven’t seen enough of him in a wholesome family man type of role. Instead, Nicholas Cage may have done better.

The film has its highs and its lows. Watching the book play out as Walter reads it can get a bit tiresome because it’s almost like watching a film while the writer reads the script to the audience. It would have been a little bit better if what happened in the book began happening in Walter’s real life world.

The film is filled with little hidden gems if you look closely enough, so it has an M. Night Shyamalan feel to it. For example, Walter’s wife’s name is Agatha, which is, I’m assuming, a play on the great mystery writer Agatha Christie.

Similarly, if you look closely you will see the number 23 throughout the film, even when Walter doesn’t notice it.

The film is anti-climatic. It could have ended numerous times, but as with any other mystery, there are multiple endings before the truth is finally revealed. And truth be told, it is a bit of a let down to learn what really happened.

Madsen is interesting in this role, although she doesn’t particularly seem to care about what her husband is doing or the fact that he is becoming paranoid and delusional because of the book.

Overall, it is a wonderfully shot film, and a pretty good mystery at that.






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