"The Equation is Perplexing."

Rating: 4/10 (20 January 2020)

The Number 23 is an intriguing concept starring Jim Carrey as Walter Sparrow, a lighthearted but somewhat disturbed dog catcher, who becomes introduced to a mysterious book entitled "The Number 23" by his wife Agatha portrayed by Virginia Madsen. Initially, Walter doesn't seem phased by the book until he soon descends into absolute madness realizing he's more connected to the writing and author.
As already mentioned the concept is intriguing but the overall execution is middling. Walter's deranged journey uncovering the depths of clues further explaining his connection found in the novel, including why "23" is specifically endangering, has great ideas but wacky structuring and pacing. While the cinematography and soundtrack steal the show, the other half with writing and performances could've had more adjustments.
Once we're introduced to Walter's culprit of obsession we're also introduced to another story that seemingly outweighs the main premise. Although they're connected the other story following a detective named Fingerling has more flair. With better writing, either as the main premise or told differently, it would've been more intriguing. The same goes for Walter's story as we're introduced to other characters serving great importance to his ongoing misadventure.
But neither characters and premises in the main or parallel stories are given enough exploration for enjoyment. There's instances where certain unexpected twists and subplots are introduced but the film's length and structure doesn't help enough. Even when Carrey portrays one of his absolute disturbing performances the film doesn't give him enough time or ways to convince audiences.
With two different convoluted stories occurring, and many underutilized ideas wasted, the film never reaches its fullest potential and feels lesser about the importance of "23" when it's more focused mixing concepts. Mathematically speaking, there's also not enough equations to make the film more interesting without seeming convenient to elaborate anything happening. The obsession of the number becomes totally sidetracked by unanswered questions and ideas that makes things more disjointed and implausible.
The equation is perplexing.