Joel trying just a bit too hard here

Rating: 5/10 (17 October 2008)

The Number 23 centers around dog-catcher Walter Sparrow (Jim Carrey) and his discovery of a book entitled "The Number 23" that seems to mirror his life along with the continual occurrence of the number 23, based upon the real life theory, the 23 enigma. Starting innocently and with much promise, The Number 23 is a reasonable attempt at a new psychological thriller.
The first sign of attraction, or for some, repulsion, is the casting of Jim, which sees him cast in a completely different role that usual. Instead of your usual wacky humor that Carrey has to offer, you are treated to an especially dark and deeper role than he has ever tackled before. Whether your a fan of him or not, JC holds quite a good performance as Walter, who slowly spirals into madness as he reads more and more into the book and uncovers an undesirable thirst within himself for the truth behind it. While I believe his boundless comedic performance could have hurt his opportunity to play this role, he shows his diversity and intact acting skills, having absolutely owned this role if it weren't for Schumacher's directing.
This brings me to the main problem I had with this film, the direction. This, mixed with the poor script, brings this film down immensely. Things feel awkward in so many places and your often finding yourself hiding a cringe. You want this to succeed so much, and it has everything in it to do so. But then a character comes out with an absolutely atrocious line or does something that is so out of place. Things feel messy and broken and you can only imagine at what this film really could have been. Even the climax that is reached at the end feels ultimately forced by Joel.
This aside, the film has many points of merit. The whole film, for instance, looks absolutely beautiful, with their DoP really outdoing himself. Not to mention the 23 references are very interesting and mind-bending. And as said before, performances are actually very good, it's just the direction and writing that ruins it for everyone.
The Number 23 could have been much better if taken on board by a different director. Sad to say, Joel really does ruin this one for me, but I can still respect a lot that this film has to offer and regardless of Schumacher, I still feel JC was excellent, or at least showed he could have been and still can be.
Hamish Kearvell A.K.A Screaming Japan Productions - www.myspace.com/screamingjapanproductions