The Number 23 | |
---|---|
Directed by | Joel Schumacher |
Written by | Fernley Phillips |
Produced by | |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Matthew Libatique |
Edited by | Mark Stevens |
Music by | Harry Gregson-Williams |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | New Line Cinema [1] |
Release date |
|
Running time | 98 minutes [2] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $30 million [3] |
Box office | $77.6 million [3] |
The Number 23 is a 2007 American thriller film [3] written by Fernley Phillips and directed by Joel Schumacher, his 23rd film. Jim Carrey stars as a man who becomes obsessed with the 23 enigma once he reads about it in a strange book that seemingly mirrors his own life. The film was released in the United States on February 23, 2007. This is the second film to pair Schumacher and Carrey, the first being Batman Forever . The film was a financial success, grossing $77.6 million, but received generally negative reviews from critics. Despite this, Carrey was proud of the film, saying: "I was able to explore the darker edges of my personality, which really was a blast and something different for me." [4] [5]
On Walter Sparrow's birthday (February 3), his wife Agatha gives him a book titled The Number 23, written by Topsy Kretts, as a birthday present. Walter starts reading the book and notices striking similarities between himself and the main character, a detective named "Fingerling". Fingerling is obsessed with the 23 enigma, the idea that all incidents and events are directly connected to the number 23. Walter too becomes obsessed with the number and attempts to uncover the mystery of the book's author, but he can't find any information. Walter's son, Robin, is interested in the enigma too, but Agatha dismisses it as superstition.
In the book, Fingerling then discovers that his lover, Fabrizia, is having an affair, and he stabs her to death. The police arrest her lover because he found her body and picked up the murder weapon, assuming it was a type of sexual roleplay. Fingerling then prepares to commit suicide by jumping from a hotel balcony, and the book ends abruptly. Walter later learns of a murder victim named Laura Tollins, whose body was never found, and whose murder is similar to the death of Fabrizia in the book. Walter believes that the man who was sent to prison for her murder, Kyle Flinch, wrote the book. Walter visits Flinch in prison, but he denies killing Laura or writing the book.
Robin discovers an address hidden in the book and they hope that it will lead them to the book's true author. When Walter confronts the man, Dr. Sirius Leary, he commits suicide by cutting his own throat. Before dying, Leary tells Agatha to go to a now-abandoned mental institution that he used to work at. At the institute, Agatha discovers a box that has Walter's name on it. Walter discovers a code in the book that tells the reader the location of Laura Tollins' body. Walter and Robin find the skeleton, but when they return with the police, the skeleton is missing. After seeing Agatha washing mud off her hands, she admits that she moved the skeleton. Walter angrily accuses her of being Topsy Kretts. However, Agatha tells Walter that he was really the one who wrote the book.
Agatha shows Walter the box from the institute that has his name on it. Inside, Walter sees the sources he used to write the book, and he begins having flashes of repressed memories. In room 23 of the hotel in the book, Walter finds the missing final chapter of the book scribbled under the wallpaper. Long ago, he was obsessed with the 23 enigma because it drove his father to suicide. He was also involved with Laura Tollins, but she left him for Flinch, resulting in him stabbing her to death. After Flinch is sent to prison for the murder, Walter wrote the book in the room as an elaborate suicide note, changing the details of his confession into a deranged fantasy. Walter then jumped off the balcony, but he survived. The resulting brain damage left him with amnesia, and he was sent to the institute to recover, and met Agatha after being released. Dr. Leary, one of Walter's doctors, read the book and became obsessed with the number, eventually publishing the book under the name Topsy Kretts.
Agatha arrives, and she tells Walter that he has changed, which is why she hid the skeleton. Convinced that he will kill again, Walter attempts to commit suicide by running into the path of a bus. However, Walter does not go through with it, not wanting his son to lose a father like he did, and Walter finally exclaims that 23 is just a number. Walter turns himself in to the police for the murder of Laura Tollins, and while awaiting sentencing, his lawyer tells him that the judge will go easy on him because he confessed. Walter declares that this is not the happiest ending, but it is the right one, and expresses hope that things will return to normal for his family once he is released from prison. Laura Tollins' body is finally laid to rest in the cemetery, and Flinch is present, having been released from prison and now at peace.
The credits begin with a Bible verse (Numbers 32:23), which reads: "Be sure your sin will find you out."
Alissa Ferguson, an associate producer working for producer Beau Flynn, first read Fernley Phillips' screenplay for The Number 23 in 2002 and described it as "probably the best script I'd ever seen in my life." Until the screenplay was picked up, Phillips was destitute and planning to return home to England. The film spent enough time in development purgatory that Phillips and Ferguson developed a romantic relationship and married in January 2005, more than two years before the film's release. [6]
Joel Schumacher signed on later that year to direct the film. He was scheduled to work on an ultimately unrealized remake of the Swedish film Sleepwalker before beginning production on The Number 23. [7] Schumacher said he was unaware of the 23 enigma until he read the script and was described in the Los Angeles Times as a "numerology agnostic." Nonetheless, he hid the number throughout the movie for "23-ophiles" and the "avid fans" who he anticipated watching the DVD "over and over again." [8]
Jim Carrey told reporters he was so captivated by the 23 enigma even before reading the script that he renamed his production company from "Pit Bull Productions" to "JC23." [9] According to Carrey, he was reading a book about Psalm 23 when he was first given a copy of the screenplay to review. He said he asked a friend to read the script and "an hour and a half later he was on page 23, circling every 23rd word. That's the kind of thing I want to do to an audience." [10] When he discovered that the first page of the script involved the lead character trying to capture a pit bull, he was "freaked out," given the change in name of his production company. [9]
Filming was scheduled to begin in November 2005. [11] Elisabeth Shue was initially signed on and scheduled to begin filming the part of Agatha [12] but it was reported in January 2006 that she dropped out when she became pregnant. [13] The following month, it was reported that Virginia Madsen was in negotiations to play the role. [14]
During production, cast and crew members became fixated on the 23 enigma and began noticing the number in their daily lives. Among other coincidences, Virginia Madsen observed that the parking space assigned to her during shooting was numbered 23 and she and co-star Danny Huston had been married 23 years earlier. Schumacher had to redirect crew members who were distracted by filming the 23rd take of the 23rd scene on February 23, 2006. Carrey drew parallels between O. J. Simpson wearing the uniform number 32 and the murders of Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman, whose names had 23 letters between them. [9]
Carrey's behavior during filming was reportedly bizarre and upsetting to others on set. Radar cited a source which told them that, during filming, Carrey "unzipped his fly and urinated as part of his improvisation. Everyone was horrified." [15]
Logan Lerman later gave Carrey credit for taking the time to talk to him about acting. Lerman, who was only 15 at the time of the film's release, said he "learned a lot from how [Carrey] prepared for roles" and that "being able to see how he does it, being able to talk to him, really helped me a lot" as an actor. [16]
The Number 23 has an approval rating of 7% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 189 reviews; the average rating is 3.50/10. The site's consensus reads: "Jim Carrey has been sharp in a number of non-comedic roles, but this lurid, overheated, and self serious potboiler is not one of them. The Number 23 is clumsy, unengaging, and mostly confusing." [17] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of "B−" on scale of A+ to F. [18]
Of the few critics who liked the film, Richard Roeper and critic George Pennachio of KABC-TV in Los Angeles stand out, as they gave the film a "two thumbs up" rating on the television show Ebert & Roeper (Pennachio was standing in for Roger Ebert due to Ebert's illness). [19] However, Michael Phillips, filling in for Ebert on the Worst of 2007 show (aired January 12, 2008) put The Number 23 at No. 7 in his list of the worst (Roeper did not include it in his list).
Peter Travers of Rolling Stone declared the film the year's worst star vehicle on his list of the Worst Movies of 2007, [20] while Colm Andrew of the Manx Independent said the film "delivers a rambling, confusing narrative with only a few stylistic elements thrown in". [21] The film was nominated for two Teen Choice Awards. [22] For his performance, Carrey was nominated for the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor at the 28th Golden Raspberry Awards, [23] but lost to Eddie Murphy for Norbit .
On its opening weekend, The Number 23 took in $14,602,867, coming in behind Ghost Rider 's second weekend. [24] After five weeks of release, the film grossed $35,193,167 at the domestic box office and $42,373,648 overseas, for a worldwide total of $77,566,815. [3] The film was released in the United Kingdom on February 23, 2007, and opened on #3, behind Charlotte's Web and Hot Fuzz . [25]
The film was released on DVD on July 24, 2007 and on Blu-ray on October 6, 2009. The DVD release was the final release to feature New Line Home Entertainment's Infinifilm label.
Batman Forever is a 1995 American superhero film directed by Joel Schumacher and produced by Tim Burton, based on the DC Comics character Batman by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. The third installment of Warner Bros.' initial Batman film series, it is a sequel to Batman Returns starring Val Kilmer, replacing Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne / Batman, alongside Jim Carrey, Tommy Lee Jones, Nicole Kidman, and Chris O'Donnell, while Michael Gough, and Pat Hingle reprise their roles. The film's story focuses on Batman trying to stop Two-Face and the Riddler in their scheme to extract information from all the minds in Gotham City while adopting an orphaned acrobat named Dick Grayson—who becomes his sidekick, Robin—and developing feelings for psychologist Dr. Chase Meridian.
James Eugene Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and comedian known for his energetic slapstick performances. After spending the 1980s honing his stand-up comedy act and portraying mostly supporting roles in films, Carrey gained wide recognition in 1990 when he was cast in the American sketch comedy television series In Living Color (1990–1994). He broke out as a film star after starring in a string of box office hits with Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask, and Dumb and Dumber, which he followed up with Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls and Batman Forever. The success of these five films led to Carrey being the first actor to receive a $20 million salary for performing in films, beginning with The Cable Guy (1996).
Minority Report is a 2002 American science fiction action film directed by Steven Spielberg, loosely based on Philip K. Dick's 1956 novella "The Minority Report". The film takes place in the Washington metropolitan area in the year 2054, in which a specialized police department—Precrime—apprehends criminals by use of foreknowledge provided by three psychics called "precogs". The cast stars Tom Cruise as Precrime chief John Anderton, Colin Farrell as Department of Justice agent Danny Witwer, Samantha Morton as precog Agatha Lively, and Max von Sydow as Precrime director Lamar Burgess. The film combines elements of tech noir, whodunit, thriller, and science fiction genres, as well as a traditional chase film, as the main protagonist is accused of a crime he has not committed and becomes a fugitive. Spielberg characterized the story as "fifty percent character and fifty percent very complicated storytelling with layers and layers of murder mystery and plot".
Bruce Almighty is a 2003 American fantasy comedy film directed by Tom Shadyac and written by Steve Koren, Mark O'Keefe and Steve Oedekerk. The film stars Jim Carrey as Bruce Nolan, a down-on-his-luck television reporter who complains to God that he is not doing his job correctly and is offered the chance to try being God himself for one week. It co-stars Jennifer Aniston, Philip Baker Hall, and Tony Bennett. The film is Shadyac and Carrey's third collaboration, after Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994) and Liar Liar (1997).
Gigli is a 2003 American romantic crime comedy film written, co-produced and directed by Martin Brest and starring Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez, Justin Bartha, Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, and Lainie Kazan.
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is a 2003 American fantasy swashbuckler film directed by Gore Verbinski. Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, the film is based on Walt Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean attraction at Disney theme parks and is the first film in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. The film stars Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, and Keira Knightley. The story follows pirate Captain Jack Sparrow (Depp) and blacksmith Will Turner (Bloom) as they rescue the kidnapped Elizabeth Swann (Knightley) from the crew of the Black Pearl, captained by Hector Barbossa (Rush). Barbossa's crew attempts to retrieve the final pieces of a hoard of Aztec gold to break the curse laid on them when they stole it.
Judd Asher Nelson is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime in The Transformers: The Movie, John Bender in The Breakfast Club, Alec Newbury in St. Elmo's Fire, Alex in Cybermutt, Joe Hunt in Billionaire Boys Club, Nick Peretti in New Jack City, Billy Beretti in Empire, and Jack Richmond in the television series Suddenly Susan.
Richard E. Roeper is an American columnist and film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times. He co-hosted the television series At the Movies with Roger Ebert from 2000 to 2008, serving as the late Gene Siskel's successor. From 2010 to 2014, he co-hosted The Roe and Roeper Show with Roe Conn on WLS-AM. From October 2015 to October 2017, Roeper served as the host of the FOX 32 morning show Good Day Chicago.
Freddy Got Fingered is a 2001 surreal black comedy film directed by Tom Green in his feature film directorial debut and written by Green and Derek Harvie. Green stars in the film as a childish slacker who wishes to become a professional cartoonist while dealing with his abusive father's behavior. Its plot resembles Green's struggles as a young man trying to get his television series picked up, which would later become the MTV series The Tom Green Show. The title of the film refers to a plot point where Green's character falsely accuses his father of sexually abusing his brother, the eponymous Freddy.
The 23 enigma is a belief in the significance of the number 23. The concept of the 23 enigma has been popularized by various books, movies, and conspiracy theories, which suggest that the number 23 appears with unusual frequency in various contexts and may be a symbol of some larger, hidden significance. A topic related to the 23 enigma is eikositriophobia, which is the fear of the number 23.
At the Movies is an American movie review television program produced by Disney–ABC Domestic Television in which two film critics share their opinions of newly released films. Its original hosts were Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel, the former hosts of Sneak Previews on PBS (1975–1982) and a similarly titled syndicated series (1982–1986). Following Siskel's death in 1999, Ebert worked with various guest critics until choosing Chicago Sun-Times colleague Richard Roeper as his regular partner in 2000.
The Cable Guy is a 1996 American absurdist satirical black comedy film directed by Ben Stiller, written by Lou Holtz Jr. and starring Jim Carrey and Matthew Broderick. It was released in the United States on June 14, 1996. The film co-stars Leslie Mann, Jack Black, George Segal, Diane Baker, Eric Roberts, Owen Wilson, Janeane Garofalo, David Cross, Andy Dick, Ben Stiller, and Bob Odenkirk.
North is a 1994 American comedy-drama adventure film directed by Rob Reiner. The story is based on the 1984 novel North: The Tale of a 9-Year-Old Boy Who Becomes a Free Agent and Travels the World in Search of the Perfect Parents by Alan Zweibel, who wrote the screenplay and has a minor role in the film.
Boat Trip is a 2002 American romantic comedy film directed by Mort Nathan in his feature film directorial debut and starring Cuba Gooding Jr., Horatio Sanz, Vivica A. Fox, Roselyn Sánchez, and Roger Moore. The film was released in the United States on March 21, 2003, and was a critical and commercial failure.
Son of the Mask is a 2005 comedy film directed by Lawrence Guterman. A stand-alone sequel to The Mask (1994), it is the second installment in The Mask franchise, an adaptation of the comic book series of the same name by Dark Horse Comics. The film stars Jamie Kennedy as Tim Avery, an aspiring animator whose child is born with the powers of the Mask. It co-stars Alan Cumming as Loki, whom Odin has ordered to find the Mask, alongside Traylor Howard, Kal Penn, Steven Wright, Bob Hoskins as Odin, and Ryan and Liam Falconer as Tim's baby Alvey. Ben Stein cameos as Doctor Arthur Neuman from the original film. The film was a critical and financial failure upon release, grossing $59.9 million against its $84–100 million budget.
Into the Blue is a 2005 American action-thriller film starring Paul Walker and Jessica Alba with Scott Caan, Ashley Scott, Josh Brolin, and James Frain in supporting roles. The film was directed by John Stockwell and was co-distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Columbia Pictures. It has since become a sleeper-hit.
Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo is a 2005 American sex comedy film directed by Mike Bigelow from a screenplay by Rob Schneider, David Garrett, and Jason Wardand. The film is the sequel to Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999) and stars Schneider, Eddie Griffin, Til Schweiger, and Jeroen Krabbé. The plot involves male prostitute Deuce Bigalow visiting his former pimp T.J. in Amsterdam, and looking for a murderer who is killing the greatest "man-whores" of Europe.
The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters is a 2007 American documentary film about competitive arcade gaming directed by Seth Gordon. It follows Steve Wiebe in his attempts to take the high score record for the 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong from Billy Mitchell. The film premiered at the 2007 Slamdance Film Festival and was released in U.S. theaters in August 2007. It received positive reviews.
Yes Man is a 2008 American romantic comedy film directed by Peyton Reed, written by Nicholas Stoller, Jarrad Paul, and Andrew Mogel and starring Jim Carrey and co-starring Zooey Deschanel. The film is based loosely on the 2005 memoir of the same name by humorist Danny Wallace, who also makes a cameo appearance in the film.
Dark Crimes is a 2016 crime drama film directed by Alexandros Avranas and written by Jeremy Brock. The film was based on a 2008 article in The New Yorker by David Grann titled "True Crime: A Postmodern Murder Mystery", which was an inspiration for the first movie title. The film stars Jim Carrey in the lead role alongside Agata Kulesza, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kati Outinen, Zbigniew Zamachowski, and Marton Csokas, and follows a detective who notices similarities between a cold case murder and a best-selling novel.