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The Number 23

The Number 23

Thriller · Mystery · Crime · 2007

Animal control officer Walter Sparrow becomes obsessed with a novel that he believes was written about him, as more and more similarities between himself and his literary alter ego seem to arise.

Movie details

The Number 23

“First it takes hold of your mind...then it takes hold of your life.”

2007 Thriller · Mystery · Crime 1h 37m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

6.4 / 10

220.5K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

7 %

Tomatometer

TMDB

6.4 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

Animal control officer Walter Sparrow becomes obsessed with a novel that he believes was written about him, as more and more similarities between himself and his literary alter ego seem to arise.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Number 23?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Fallen

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Blood Ties

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Miss Marple: A Caribbean Mystery

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Barron's Cove

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The Silence of the Lambs

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Clarice Starling is a top student at the FBI's training academy. Jack Crawford wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case and that Starling, as an attractive young woman, may be just the bait to draw him out.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Joel Schumacher

Written by

Fernley Phillips

Jim Carrey

Jim Carrey

Walter Sparrow / Fingerling

Virginia Madsen

Virginia Madsen

Agatha Sparrow / Fabrizia

Logan Lerman

Logan Lerman

Robin Sparrow

Danny Huston

Danny Huston

Isaac French / Dr. Miles Phoenix

Lynn Collins

Lynn Collins

Suicide Blonde / Mrs. Dobkins / Young Fingerling's Mother

Rhona Mitra

Rhona Mitra

Laura Tollins

Mark Pellegrino

Mark Pellegrino

Kyle Finch

Court is in session

Put The Number 23 on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Auteur Devotee

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.