The Number 23 Left Hanging...

Rating: 6/10 (28 July 2007)

The Number 23 has masterpiece written all over it. Anyone who has ever had a fascination with numerology or been a student of numerology could have written a better script. This film falls way short in delivering as a psychological thriller. Schumacher, Carrey and Madsen are not at fault. The direction and acting, though not stellar, are above average. The beginning of the script is good. It draws you in and holds your interest. Schumacher uses camera angles and coloring well during the narratives read from the book. The scenes allowing the viewer to see what the character is reading are the brilliant spots in this film. Once the character's obsession with the number 23 begins, the script starts unraveling. The number 23 is just left dangling. Repeatedly seeing, saying and writing the number 23 becomes boring. Character development becomes shoddy, the plot becomes Hollywood predictable and the twists and turns though existing, do not thrill. Still I can't rate the film lower than 6 stars because Carrey and Madsen worked diligently with what they were handed. Fernley Phillips needs to attend script writing 101.