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Truth be told: When the movie presents its full story, you realize the movie didn't even need the number 23. It's just there. Instead, the movie's real crux is reminiscent of Stranger than Fiction: A man finds himself as a character in a book and must find the author to avert the serious consequences in the tale's ending.

A paranoid Walter sees the number 23 around every corner

Of course, The Number 23 has a much different tone than Stranger Then Fiction. Walter's story for the most part has a tone comparable to the The Shining—normative but eerie and increasingly unhinged. And Fingerling's story is given a very stylized look, like comic book sagas Sin City and 300. Both tones work well—until they begin to lose focus. The tone is diluted because Schumacher doesn't seem to know what genre the film is. He knows how to do creepy thriller—he captained Flatliners. But here, he seems unsure what tone to set. Sometimes he wants horror movie. And then more of an M. Night Shyamalan thriller feel. And then Fight Club. And then, the movie ends with about 10 minutes of feel-good family drama with swelling music and a Full House hug-filled closure. Seriously.

The changes are jarring. Bits meant to be creepy and foreshadowing draw unintended laughter. Prepped for a tragedy, audiences guffaw at The Family Sparrow turning detective and saving the day.

The convoluted plot and tone are unfortunate because there are good pieces of story here. The film seems to be itching to talk about big questions about hidden sin and how one deals with past mistakes. Can the past stay buried? If one is a killer, are they always a killer? And what is the right way to respond to sin done unto others? A character reeling with guilt makes the decision to face the consequences for his/her sin—instead of committing suicide—by conceding, "To die in the street would have been the easy way out, but it would not have been justice."

Fascinatingly, the movie ends with the words of Numbers 32:23 printed on the screen: "And be sure your sin will find you out" (KJV). The problem is that it seems to only be up there for its 23 connection and carries little weight because this theme is so watered down amongst the 20 other messages.

Or is it 23 other messages?

Talk About It

1. What do you think Numbers 32:23 means? What do you think it means in the context of this film? In what way do sins find someone out?
2. A character says, "You're not a bad person who got better. You are a sick person who got well." What's that mean to you? What's the difference? How would you define someone who becomes a believer and repents their past sin life? Have they become "better?"
3. There's much discussion about seeing connections between seemingly random occurrences. A character says, "You've concerned yourself with minutia. If the book was about the number 15 or 150, you could see the same patterns. You're looking for the number 23, so you find it." How is this true for you? How do you seem to find what you want in life because you are looking for it? Does it mean it's not there?
4. One character tries to connect looking for the number 23 with people who pray to God. Do you think people see God's hand in things when it's not there—just because they want to see it? How do you know when it's really God?
5. How is this movie redeeming? What Christian values do you see in the end? Is true justice served?

The Family Corner

The Number 23 is rated R for violence, disturbing images, sexuality and language. The Lord's name is taken in vain along with all the big swear words. There's very graphic, bloody and sudden violence—throats being slit and bodies dropping on pavement. There's no nudity, but there are several sex scenes that show a lot of action—and degrees of perversion such as violent sex.

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