Publication Date: March 9, 2007
Calvin Chimes
Headline: Low Concept

Low Concept
‘The Number 23’ is a slave to tired conventions

Chris Beaumont

Joel Schumacher likes concept movies. The aim of such a movie is to attract viewers with a big name cast, novel plot and, in all likelihood, lots of twists. For example, he directed “Phone Booth,” the 2002 flick about a celebrity agent trapped in a phone booth by an unseen sniper. He was also behind “8mm,” a gritty detective story centered on a homemade snuff film and, early in his career, “The Incredible Shrinking Woman,” about… an incredible shrinking woman.

Schumacher’s latest concept film is “The Number 23,” which stars Jim Carey as Walter Sparrow. When his wife gives him an obscure used book for his birthday, Sparrow begins to see connections between himself and Fingerling, the book’s protagonist. As Fingerling is driven insane by the mysterious appearance of the number 23, Sparrow too starts to see these digits everywhere: in his birth date, his social security number, his address, etc. Mysteriously, Fingerling’s life starts to take control of Sparrow’s, and he (Sparrow) must unlock the secret of the book’s origin before he commits the atrocities that Fingerling does.

The principle weakness of “The Number 23” is that it fails to intrigue. The film’s selling point, as the title suggests, is how 23 weaves its way through the story. This is interesting until the early and inevitable realization that these numbers are merely contrivances of a screenwriter. That Sparrow’s life revolves around digits which sum to 23 is not a testament to how spooky 23 is; it’s a testament to how easy addition is. Furthermore, almost every occurrence of 23 is accompanied by an acknowledgment so obvious that it might as well be delivered directly to camera (to the film’s credit, there were a few 23’s hidden in license plates and addresses that are left unannounced).

The ending is similarly uninspired, as it copies a “twist” from no fewer than four mainstream films of the past decade (unfortunately, naming the films would give away the endings to all of them). Failing to deliver on an interesting story or a clincher ending, the movie turns to the last staple of the concept film: a heavyweight cast to carry the film. While Carrey can be a talented dramatic actor, the script is so focused on the conspiracy of 23 that it leaves him little room act. The same is true for the decent supporting cast, and Virginia Madsen and Lynn Collins both give decent but underdeveloped performances.

The story of Sparrow’s book is told in parallel with Sparrow’s own. This subplot is portrayed in a highly stylized noir fashion with soft focus shots, washed out colors, and sober narration. While an interesting idea, the secondary story quickly falls into a clone of noir films. The lack of development put into these scenes renders them tacky and occasionally laughable.

Ultimately, “The Number 23” is an uninspired project whose potentially clever concept is designed more to get people into the theatre then to reward them once they’re there. If you’re looking for a satisfying concept movie, try one of the many which this one mimics; “Memento,” “Seven,” and “The Usual Suspects” all offer more compelling stories with far richer performances that what “The Number 23” delivers.

chris beaumont
beaumont@ifa.hawaii.edu
graduate student
institute for astronomy
university of hawaii at manoa
2680 woodlawn drive
honolulu, hi 96822