Rating:

The Number 23 official site: http://www.number23movie.com/

So… Jim Carrey is back and this time a dead serious show. Something very much different than Fun with Dick and Jane. It has been quite some time since Jim Carrey has actually pick to act at some serious shows. And when he does pick to act in one, he excels at doing it. I personally think he did well in the Truman Show, even better in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

As much as how every one like his dumber and funnier side, I look at him in a total opposite direction. I think he was too annoying in comedies as I find him, most of the time over react and I don’t get it, I just felt like slapping him at his face each time I see his look.

I never did know or hear much about this movie. I think it wasn’t really promoted over here. I never did see any trailer showed before movies nor heard anyone talked about it beforehand. Well, like I always say, great movies always have it ways.

Before anything, I must really say… they have a SUPERB opening. I love how they do such stunning yet themed opening. It’s beautiful… it’s numbered, pure black, red and white which they manage to explain in the movie later on… not to mention the typwriter typeface. Wow… it was superb. The opening title montage itself scored a 4 points from me already.

Spoiler begins here.
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The movie started with a flashback to Walter Sparrow’s (Jim Carrey) life few days back. Walter is an animal control officer. Most of this time was spent sitting in the truck, waiting for calls to catch stray and dangerous animals. That very day was his birthday. Thinking he could get out of work in time as he receive no call, his fellow reception called him 1 minute before he gets of from work to catch a dog.

He sensed something funny with the dog and started preparing himself to capture the dog. In the process, he even tell story to the dog. When he successfully capture the dog, he tries to flip his dog tag to know who this dog belongs to. As he approaches to touch the dog tag, the dog attacked him and manage to escape. Walter then chase after the dog until he reaches to a nearby cemetery. The dog is seen sitting nearby a grave with the name Laura Tollins’ (Rhona Mitra) carved on it. Walter then took out his gun and wanted to put the dog to rest. As he gets ready to aim, the dog disappeared. Feeling shocked and strange, Walter left the place to pick up his wife Agatha Pink (Virginia Madsen).

Agatha owns a cake shop. On that day, she and Walter plans to celebrate birthday at Agatha’s friends house. Walter is suppose to pick her up, whereby he came late due to work. While waiting for Walter, Agatha walked in to the bookstore next door and started looking at books. One red book caught the attention of Agatha. She flip a few pages and started to read whle waiting. When Walter arrive, Agatha decided that she would buy the book for Walter to read.

They then headed to Agatha’s friend, Dr. Isaac French (Danny Huston) home. Agatha is busy talking and catching with her friend. Feeling a little bored, Walter took out the book Agatha bought and started to read.

The book talks about how this young little boy wanted to be a detective will only be known as Fingerling (Jim Carrey) in the book. At young, Fingerling witness a death of a neighbour. Fingerling loves to read detective comics and belive that his neighbour didn’t commit suicide, instead.. she was murdered. As Walter continues to read, he felt he have many similarities with Fingerling.

In the book, as Fingerling grew up, he successfully became a detective. He was a famous detective and he manages to get the attention of Fabrizia (Virginia Madsen). Fabrizia is a hot and sexy woman whom is so sexually addicted to Fingerling. She is often seen in scenes teasing and seducing Fingerling.

One day, Fingerling accept this case whereby he would have to calm a girl who is in the midst of commiting suicide. He tries to stop her from doing so.. only to know he couldn’t help her out. The girl was know as “Suicide Blonde” (Lynn Collins). As Suicide Blonde was talking to Fingerling, she tore the white paper covering all the four walls and reveals lots of scribbles. It seems that Suicide Blonde was cursed with the number 23. Her father commits suicide too as a result from the obsession of 23. His father thought they could end everything when he died.

However, after listening to the Suicide Blonde, she notices she was cursed as well. She then explains and show calculations on how everything about her is related to 23. From birthdate to favourite colour and names. Fingerling was speechless and think of this as only her obsession. He then walk out from the apartment thinking he successfully stop her from commiting suicide. He was shocked when he saw the Suicide Blonde fall and died right in front of her.

Ever since the Suicide Blonde’s death, Fingerling starts to be obsessed with the number 23. He started his calculation only to notice that the number 23 curse has spread to him. He started doing massive calculation which scared and disturbs Fabrizia.

Back in reality, Walter too was obsessed with the calculations. He started calculating every which ironically tally to the number 23. He told his wife and his son about this. However Agatha thinks that Walter was simply too in to the book. His son, Robin (Logan Lerman) initially didn’t believe him. As he do more calculations, it started to convince him a little.

Agatha then asked Walter to visit Isaac for some help. When he arrive, he did asked and discuss the 23 theory with him. Isaac told Walter that there isn’t any scientific proves but many of what we know today is somehow related to the number. Walter then takes the book back to the bookstore to try locate the author. There, Walter found out that the book was written by someone known as Topsy Kretts and that this is a self published book and that the author did not produce any book before or after the Number 23 book.

According to the book, Fingerling was obsessed with the calculations which make him neglect lots of his work. As a result, he was suspended from work. Fabrizia soon lost interest with Fingerling as he no longer is a detective and started to see other men.

Back in real life, after reading the book, Walter suspects Agatha and Isaac was getting together behind him. He started to get suspicious and his weird behaviour comes to and extreme when he dreamt of himself killing Agatha. The dream was so real that he got scared and decided to stay out for the night. He left a message on the table telling Agatha that he needs to clear his mind and will be staying out for the night.

In the middle of the night, Walter stop by at King Edward’s Hotel and decided to just bunk there for the night. Thinking he was cursed, he was surprised that the owner didn’t offer him room number 23. Instead, they arrange him to stay in room number 25. Walter then asked the owner if he could have room number 23. The owner then told him that the room have some plumbing issues and could not be rented out for the night. Little does Walter know, people around him was looking at him weirdly when he make the request.

Walter continues to read the book only to end at Chapter 22 whereby Fabrizia was murdered by Fingerling when she decided to walk out of his life and be with his superior. After murdering Fabrizia, Fingerling is standing in front of a balcony hesitating if he should commit suicide to end the number 23 curse.

Just as Walter looks out the window, He saw the dog and tries to catch it again this time. Walter then followed the dog back to the cemetery. He then shot the dog and it rested to sleep. He then walk near it to see the tag which spelled NED. The cemetery care taker then asked what Walter is trying to do when he later explain. The care taker then explained that NED is watcher for this cemetary.

Next to Ned, Walter notice the grave of Laura Tollins where she died on her 23rd birthday. The care taker then tells more about how Laura was killed by his professor, similar to how Fabrizia was killed. He also mentioned that no one actually found the body of Laura.

Walter then comes to a conclusion that the book was a confession to a murder and it was written by the professor. Walter then went to visit the professor in the jail trying to find out what actually happen. He denied the fact that he killed Laura and told Walter that he actually loved her. Walter then ask him if he wrote the book. He denied it too stating if he would have published a book, he would never use names like Topsy Kretts (Top Secret). Walter then left the place feeling lost as he is out of clue to find out who is the actual Topsy Kretts.

While driving Agatha and Robin back, Robin mentioned that he knows where to find Topsy Kretts. While reading through the book, he found a secret page whereby a mailing address was listed in it. Trying to lure the author to reveal him/her self, they send 23 box filled with sponge to the mailbox. They then hide across the street to see who appear and receive the package. Noticing someone was there to receive the package, Walter walk in and confronted the guy. When he saw WAlter, he paniced and stated that Walter should be dead and he would have to end all this and slit his own throat.

Agatha then ask Walter to leave the man and drive Robin home while shouting to the owner of the place to call the ambulance. As Walter left, Agatha tries to put his head near to the guy and listens to what he has to say. Agatha also found an I.D card from the man’s pocket indicating that he was Dr. Sirius Larey working in a mental institute. He told Agatha that she must go to the place and burn it down as it is where all evil begins.

Agatha never mention anything to Walter and went to the abandoned and found Dr. Sirius’ old office. There, she saw a small room filled with scribbles and calculations as well. Inside that room, she saw a box and Walter’s name was on the label.

Back at home, Walter and Robin kept looking through the book to find more clues. While they were reading through, they found out that every 23rd word on every 23rd page spells out a message. The message asked them to go to Casanova Park and dig under the steps of heaven. Robin thought Casanova Park was a person’s name but Walter quickly corrects him and brought Robin along to a nearby park named Casanova Park.

When arrive, they saw “The Steps of Heaven” whereby it has 23 steps. At the 23rd steps, they started digging and found a skull believed to be the remainings of Laura Torllins. They went to call the police from a nearby phone booth. When they return with the police, the skull was gone. The police was furious as they thought Walter and Robin was playing prank calls. Agatha then arrives to the scene with Dr. Isaac. This has made things more uneasy for Walter as he believes Agatha and Dr. Isaac have a secret love relationship.

Agatha then follow Walter and Robin home. On they way back, Walter saw Ned and tries to run over it as he believe he is the cause of everything. If it was not for him, he wouldn’t be late and Agatha would not have seen the book. Walter finally stops when Agatha hold him tight and ask him not to do it.

Once they arrive, Agatha rush in to wash her hands. Water notice the dirt in the hand and suspected that Agatha was the writer of the book and tries to save herself by removing the skull. He then search her bag to notice how she brings a knife along with her all the time. Robin rush in and was shocked to see how Walter was pointing the knife towards Agatha claiming her as a murderer.

Agatha have no choice but to tell out the truth that Walter is actually the killer and that he wrote the book. Much to his own disbelief, Agatha brought Walter to the institute and showed him the box containing the original manuscript with Walter’s name on it. Besides that, there were many detective comics, a saxaphone and many other things.

Everything soon became clear and Walter rush out and went to the King Edward’s Hotel. He then make his way to room number 23 and tore down the wallpaper. Behind the wallpaper was the chapter 23, a continuation of the book. Walter was not brave enough to confess his mistakes in the book worrying he might be caught. Hence, he wrote it on the wall back then.

On the wall, it explains everything. What happen actually was true. When young, Walter’s father commit suicide when his mother died. Walter’s father left some suicide notes which doesn’t mean anything accept some numbers that adds up to 23. As Walter grew up and went to college, he gets to know Laura Torllins and fell in love with her. They both have an intimate relationship. Back then, Walter is already obsessed with the number 23.

Not long after that, Walter notices that Laura is not being faithful and is sleeping around with her professor. When Walter confronted Laura, she claimed that she never loved him and he was weird. Angry with what she said, Walter kills Laura. The professor was mistaken for the murder when he accidently holds the knife in the murder scene. Walter then burried Laura. He then heads to King Edward’s Hotel and started to write his confession.

After finishing his confession, he jump down the balcony trying to commit suicide. However he survived but lost his memory. He was then transfered to the mental institue where he undergo some intense therapy whereby Dr. Sirius is working. Dr. Sirius reads the manuscript that Walter wrote and decides to publish it under the name of Topsy Kretts. Little does he know, he himself was obsessed with the number 23 after reading the book.

When Walter finall recovered from his trauma, he was released from the institue where he first bump in to Agatha. Later, Walter tries to commit suicide once again after knowing the truth but fails to do so when Robin calls for him. He now knows that he have family of his own and death is not the way out.

He then turns himself in, therefore freeing the professor. Even when in jail, Walter is optimistic about his future with Agatha and Robin. The scene then zoom in to the clock showing 2.15 (literally 2 and 3 when see on a clock).

At the end of the movie, there was a quote from the bible which goes like “Be sure your sins will find you” 32:23.

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Spoiler ends here.

I really think it was a good movie. Something different from what every other movie have. Yes, I think it was pretty neat and new in terms of concept wise. I must say Jim Carrey gave a powerful perfomance. But little do I know why most critiques think it was bad and scored it way less than any stupid act Jim Carrey did. Then again, probably they were expecting some stupid and dumb show. To be honest, I think the critique’s review didn’t do this movie justice. I am serious… most of the readers review think it was good which includes me but.. wow… no one could actually imagine how it was badly rated by the critiques.

The movie was shot beautifully. It was colourful. The colour correction and treatment was perfect. Not to mention the directing and angles was just great. If there was a thing I could pick on, I would say the ending fails me. I personally think the ending reveals too much and would be better at the point where he went back to the abandoned institue to finds out the truth.

Yes, I know… I always hates movie that gives out too much. For me, I like subtle hints which makes you a little curious and left you think a little would be just nice. Nothing too much… nothing too little.

I would seriously recommend this show if you are looking for something different, something weird and if you love to see the serious side of Jim Carrey. Yes, welcome to the dark side.