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IMDbPro

The Discovery

  • 20172017
  • TV-MATV-MA
  • 1h 42m
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
35K
YOUR RATING
Jason Segel in The Discovery (2017)
A love story set in a world where the afterlife has been scientifically proven, and as a result millions of people start taking their own lives to "get there."
Play trailer1:44
2 Videos
43 Photos
DramaRomanceSci-Fi
Two years after the afterlife is scientifically proven, a man attempts to help a young woman break away from her dark past.Two years after the afterlife is scientifically proven, a man attempts to help a young woman break away from her dark past.Two years after the afterlife is scientifically proven, a man attempts to help a young woman break away from her dark past.
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
35K
YOUR RATING
    • Charlie McDowell
    • Charlie McDowell
    • Justin Lader
  • Stars
    • Robert Redford
    • Mary Steenburgen
    • Brian McCarthy
    • Charlie McDowell
    • Charlie McDowell
    • Justin Lader
  • Stars
    • Robert Redford
    • Mary Steenburgen
    • Brian McCarthy
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 149User reviews
    • 73Critic reviews
    • 54Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Videos2

    Trailer #2
    Trailer 1:44
    Watch Trailer #2
    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:39
    Watch Official Trailer

    Photos43

    Robert Redford, Jason Segel, and Rooney Mara in The Discovery (2017)
    Robert Redford, Ron Canada, Jesse Plemons, Jason Segel, Rooney Mara, Riley Keough, and Paul Bellefeuille in The Discovery (2017)
    Rooney Mara in The Discovery (2017)
    Jason Segel and Rooney Mara in The Discovery (2017)
    Robert Redford in The Discovery (2017)
    Robert Redford and Riley Keough in The Discovery (2017)
    Rooney Mara in The Discovery (2017)
    Robert Redford in The Discovery (2017)
    Jason Segel in The Discovery (2017)
    Rooney Mara in The Discovery (2017)
    The Discovery (2017)
    The Discovery (2017)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Robert Redford
    Robert Redford
    • Thomas
    Mary Steenburgen
    Mary Steenburgen
    • Interviewer
    Brian McCarthy
    Brian McCarthy
    • Sound Recordist
    Jason Segel
    Jason Segel
    • Will
    Rooney Mara
    Rooney Mara
    • Isla
    Jesse Plemons
    Jesse Plemons
    • Toby
    Ron Canada
    Ron Canada
    • Cooper
    Riley Keough
    Riley Keough
    • Lacey
    Connor Ratliff
    Connor Ratliff
    • Coroner
    M.J. Karmi
    M.J. Karmi
    • Janice
    • (as MJ Karmi)
    Kimleigh Smith
    Kimleigh Smith
    • Hospital Receptionist
    Willie C. Carpenter
    Willie C. Carpenter
    • Hospital Janitor
    • (as Willie Carpenter)
    Wendy Makkena
    Wendy Makkena
    • Mom
    Adam Khaykin
    Adam Khaykin
    • Oliver
    • (as Adam Morrison Khaykin)
    Lindsay Schnebly
    • Newscaster
    Colin Allen
    Colin Allen
    • Green Jumpsuit Person
    • (uncredited)
    Paul Bellefeuille
    Paul Bellefeuille
    • Pat Phillips
    • (uncredited)
    Jim Boyd
    Jim Boyd
    • Man in Red 1
    • (uncredited)
      • Charlie McDowell
      • Charlie McDowell
      • Justin Lader
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Charlie McDowell directed his then girlfriend Rooney Mara and his mother Mary Steenburgen in this film.
    • Goofs
      Will rules out the possibility of the image retrieved from a corpse being a memory of the deceased person, on the grounds that it does not match the events that took place in real life. Science has discovered, however, that memory is in fact not an accurate record of what one perceives but rather a distorted and malleable one, and Will, being a neurologist, must have been aware of this.
    • Quotes

      Lacey: Please don't lose faith in me.

      Thomas: "Faith" Oh, God. I have such contempt for that word. Show me someone who relies on faith and I'll show you someone who's given up control over whatever it is they believe.

    • Connections
      Featured in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Jason Segel/Lilly Singh/Brian Regan (2017)
    • Soundtracks
      A Fancy Place to Cry
      Written by Billy Hayes

      Performed by Patsy Maples

      Courtesy of Fervor Records

    User reviews149

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    4/10
    A huge waste of a great idea
    Talk about a wasted opportunity.

    A fine cast led by the underrated Jason Segal (still doing his best to break out from his How I Met Your Mother persona and delivering a so-so turn when you look back at his role in End of the Tour) and backed up by Rooney Mara, Robert Redford and one of the finest supporting players going around Jason Plemon's isn't enough to save Charlie McDowell's Netflix original Sci-Fi/Drama The Discovery from a disappointing result and ending its runtime as one of the most frustratingly forgettable films in many a moon.

    The core idea behind The Discovery, that Redford's scientist Thomas Harber has discovered evidence of a confirmed afterlife, leading to a world in which the suicide rates have ramped up to epidemic levels with Harber then working on a secret project that looks to record this afterlife for those alive to witness is a fantastic one and an idea that strikes up many a various conversation point but McDowell's film which ends up being more of an unbelievable romance between Segal's charisma free Will and Mara's mumbling and emo Isla than anything else feels unable to make the most of its idea.

    Perhaps hampered by budget restraint's (although this hardly seems to be a problem for Netflix originals these days) or perhaps just a lack of overall vision. The Discovery showcases glimmers of what could be in stall for us whether it's the oft mentioned suicides, the cult like following Harber has garnered thanks to his work or Will's and Isla's investigation into a possible glimpse of the afterlife they have recorded but all these intriguing elements are quickly swept under the rug and while the film's final reveal makes the journey feel more rewarding than it actually is, you can't help but escape the feeling The Discovery has short-changed its viewers with a mediocre effort of a far more interesting story.

    It's great seeing Netflix continue to invest in unique and original film properties but The Discovery will be marked down as one of their clear failures and while this intellectual thinking man's Sci-Fi has moments of greatness, overall this emotionally void experience is one of the dominate companies worst original studio efforts this side of their Sandler "comedies".

    2 bunk beds out of 5
    helpful•87
    47
    • eddie_baggins
    • Apr 9, 2017

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 31, 2017 (United States)
      • United States
      • Official Facebook
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Aquidneck Island, Rhode Island, USA
    • Production companies
      • Endgame Entertainment
      • Netflix
      • Protagonist Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 42 minutes
      • Color

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