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A psychological thriller is a movie where things happen in the heroes’ heads that push them towards actions they would never normally do. The horror is usually covered with a fake sense of normality, makin’ it something you might expect but you are never ready for. In Joel Schumacher’s latest there is no horror, just Jim Carrey and his obsession with himself.

Carrey plays Walter Sparrow, a dog catcher bored of his job and his family life. His wife Agatha (Virginia Madsen) buys him a book by the name of… “The Number 23” and his life changes. He identifies with the hero, a detective called Fingerling, he gets obsessed with the noir lifestyle and eventually with the number 23. After he tries to play the private eye himself his wife finally gets involved and the mystery unravels…

Joel Schumacher couldn’t do without his pretentious style, so he directs like he’s the only one involved in this film. He leaves Jim Carrey hanging and eventually the latter falls short. This is a thriller not a black comedy. Humor was not necessary and although Carrey is extremely low key he still reminds me of a comedian i once knew. That’s the director’s job, to instruct his star on his performance and get the best out of him. Not done.

The script was full of potential; family man, obsession, arithmology, mysticism maybe and most of all plain ol’ sickness. But Schumacher had to go and direct a noir version of the book, a movie inside the movie, cliched to the extent of parody along with an irritating voiceover narration by the hero. On top of that, the number “23” itself proves to be of less importance than someone would think by the title. It just provides the means for the obsession to be obvious. By the final moments where we get the whole story we beg for some gore, a reason to like this film. We are left helpless.

It should have been good, it could have been good, but it’s not. Somebody please write a good comedy for this talented man and don’t let Schumacher near him again.