Synopsis

“All the characters in this book are fictitious, and anyone finding a resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, should proceed no further…”
-- Disclaimer from the novel The Number 23

Spiraling into a dark obsession with the number 23, Walter Sparrow (Jim Carrey) twists his once idyllic life into an inferno of psychological torture that could possibly lead to his death as well as the deaths of his loved ones. Spurred on by a mysterious novel, The Number 23, that he doesn’t dare put down, Walter is forced to unlock the secrets of his past before he can continue his future with his wife, Agatha (Virginia Madsen), and teenage son, Robin (Logan Lerman).

The novel, given to Walter by Agatha as a birthday gift, depicts a chilling murder mystery that seems to mirror Walter’s life in dark and uncontrollable ways. The life of the book’s main character, a brooding detective named Fingerling (also played by Carrey), is filled with moments that echo Walter’s own history. As the world of the book starts to come alive, Walter becomes infected by the most frightening and evocative part of it: Fingerling’s obsession with the hidden power of the number 23.

This obsession permeates the book and begins to control Walter. He sees the number everywhere in his own life and becomes convinced that he is damned to commit the same horrific crime as Fingerling – murder. Nightmarish fantasies come to haunt Walter, ones that portend terrible fates for his wife as well as family friend Isaac French (Danny Huston), placing him on a desperate quest to understand the mysteries of the book.

If he can unlock the power behind the number 23, he may be able to change his future. Jim Carrey stars in New Line Cinema’s psychological thriller, The Number 23, a Contrafilm/Firm Films production directed by Joel Schumacher (Phone Booth, 8MM, Falling Down) from an original screenplay by first-time screenwriter Fernley Phillips. Beau Flynn and Tripp Vinson (After the Sunset, The Exorcism of Emily Rose) produce. The executive producers are Mike Drake and Toby Emmerich, Richard Brener, Keith Goldberg, Brooklyn Weaver and Eli Richbourg. The co-producer is Fernley Phillips and the associate producer is Linda Fields Hill.

Virginia Madsen (Sideways) and Danny Huston (The Constant Gardener) head an outstanding supporting cast that includes Logan Lerman (Hoot), Rhona Mitra (TV’s “Nip/Tuck”) and Lynn Collins (The Merchant of Venice), among others.

Also bringing their vision to the film: acclaimed cinematographer Matthew Libatique, ASC (Requiem for a Dream), production designer Andrew Laws (Down With Love), costume designer Daniel Orlandi (The Da Vinci Code), editor Mark Stevens (Phone Booth) and composer Harry Gregson-Williams (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe).

The film, which began production on January 23rd, 2006, was shot on location in and around the Los Angeles area, including the communities of Altadena, Pacific Palisades, Monterey Park and Temple City. Enhancing the stylized world of the book, some interiors were filmed inside the Sunset Gower Studios in Hollywood and Los Angeles Center Studios in downtown Los Angeles.

The Number 23 (rated “R” by the M.P.A.A. for “violence, disturbing images, sexuality and language”) will be released in theaters nationwide by New Line Cinema on February 23rd, 2007.

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23 Examples of the “23 ENIGMA”
The "23 Enigma" refers to the belief that all incidents and events are directly connected to the number 23, some permutation of the number 23, or a number related to the number 23.