23 is the new 42

Rating: 7/10 (27 June 2010)

If I hadn't known that The Number 23 was based on an eponymous novel by Fernley Phillips, I would probably have thought it was another of Dan Brown's thrillers set around a conspiracy theory.
Walter Sparrow stumbles upon a novel based on a guy named Fingerling and how he realizes that the number 23 was all around him. Walter gradually starts believing that the novel was in fact based on him and, like Fingerling, becomes obsessed with 23 and starts noticing it everywhere- 9/11 2001, 9+11+2+1= 23, JFK was killed on November 22, 1963 2+2=4 and 1+9+6+3=19 and 19+4= 23, Caesar was stabbed 23 times- you get the drift. I found it oddly reminiscent of Dougals Adams fans' obsession with 42. Or the conspiracy theories surrounding the number 11 in the wake of 9/11.
A promising premise alright. Jim Carrey proves for the first time since Eternal Sunshine and The Truman Show that he can, well, act. The narrative is taut and the movie chugs along nicely without letting you lose interest. And that's where the positives end.
The climax inevitably forms the backbone of any psychological thriller. Psycho, Shutter Island and Fight Club wouldn't have been half as memorable as they were if it weren't for the sheer brilliance of the denouement. And that's where The Number 23 falls apart. It was unraveling with speed and machismo, promising to tower upwards in a great final revelation. But instead it turned inward and ricocheted blindly backwards. Instead of opening up the throttle and letting the number have real meaning and significance, Phillips turns the plot inward and shells up the climax with a muffled grunt.
I have given the movie 7 on 10, but it could quite easily have been a 6. Or worse.