The Number 23

The Number 23

(3 Stars out of 5)

The Number 23 is a very interesting movie. It is more than just a screenwriter's fiction. It is actually fact. There are people out there convinced of and obsessed with the unfortunate nature of the number 23. Check them out here : http://pi.twentythree.us/23enigma/

As for the movie, it is good, but not great. It really takes the first half to completely get going, but once this movie changes from a possible obsession to a murder mystery, the movie gains steam. Jim Carrey is good as the obsessed man, but the screenwriters chose to make him obsessive all at once which is why the first half is mired in going over the same obsession over and over and goes nowhere for quite a while.

The movie does a great job placing 23s everywhere throughout the movie. It is entertaining to watch the movie and find all the references to 23. The DVD is especially good as it goes through numerology, as well as helping the viewer find out what their “number” is, and yes, my number is “9”. Numerology seems very much like astrology, something someone has bought into which may or may not have significance, but it is so general that one can believe the numbers are real, almost like when a fortune teller or psychic tells you something, they read the person and work in generalities so that you think it is all real. This movie exposes the 23 obsession as just that. You can choose to add up things in all different types of ways, not being consistent and find, alas!, it all adds up to 23. Reminds me of the supposed bible code as well. Not surprising that groups like the Illuminati also revered the number 23.

But I digress, this is a movie review, not a dissertation on the obsession with the number 23. The use of symbolic dog is interesting, much like the red color used in The Sixth Sense. Joel Schumacher, director of the movie, does a serviceable job. I have found that I tend to like movies executive produced by Toby Emmerich, or maybe it is just because he is the executive producer of so many movies.

While watching the movie, the viewer wonders if it is just an obsession, but also wonders if it can be true; that a simple number can rule your life. The moviemakers were so intent on obsessing over the number, that they didn’t create a significant mood of setting or create a timeline that makes sense (considering the beginning of the movie and the fact they stopped stating what day it was). A movie about obsession, creating one’s own version of truth is interesting in itself, but to be a great movie, it must make one think if the obsession can become real, problem is, this movie did not create that, although the DVD extras did. This movie would have had much less impact if seen in the theater without the extras. Then again, is this just a movie review? Did you notice the 23^rd word? Did you notice how many times the word obsession was used? Or are you just obsessing as well?

By: Josh Wheeler - Contributing Writer