The Discovery

2017 1h 42m EN

😐

6.3

MID

🥫

48%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

6.2

IMDB

★6.3TMDB · 1,475🥫48%Rotten Tomatoes●54Metacritic★6.2IMDB · 40,102

DramaRomanceScience FictionThrillerMystery

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In the near future, due to a breakthrough scientific discovery by Dr. Thomas Harbor, there is now definitive proof of an afterlife. While countless people have chosen suicide to reset their existence, others try to decide what it all means. Among them is Dr. Harbor's son Will, who has arrived at his father's isolated compound with a mysterious young woman named Isla. There, they discover the strange acolytes who help Dr. Harbor with his experiments.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Jason Segel
Will Harbor
Rooney Mara
Isla
Robert Redford
Dr. Thomas Harbor
Jesse Plemons
Toby Harbor
Riley Keough
Lacey
Ron Canada
Cooper
Brian McCarthy
Andy
Kimleigh Smith
Pam

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Charlie McDowell
Writers: Justin Lader, Charlie McDowell
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America, United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 9 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United States of America, United Kingdom.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Charlie McDowell, shot by Sturla Brandth Grøvlen. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Danny Bensi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jennifer Lilly shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Jason Segel and Rooney Mara and Robert Redford carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt5155780 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Charlie McDowell directs. Sturla Brandth Grøvlen behind the camera. Danny Bensi scores. Jennifer Lilly cuts. Produced in United States of America, United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 9 years ago.
2International production across 2 countries: United States of America, United Kingdom.
3Directed by Charlie McDowell, shot by Sturla Brandth Grøvlen. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Danny Bensi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Jennifer Lilly shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Jason Segel and Rooney Mara and Robert Redford carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt5155780 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Sturla Brandth Grøvlen
Original score: Danny Bensi
Editing: Jennifer Lilly
Production design: Akin McKenzie
Costume design: Keri Langerman
Makeup / hair: Brenda McNally
Runtime: 102 min · 1h 42m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $5,000,000
Original language: EN
IMDB: The Discovery (2017)
Rotten Tomatoes: 48% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 54/100
IMDB rating: 6.2/10 · 40,102 votes
MPAA: TV-MA

Also by

Charlie McDowell

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

tmdb280390232022-08-29
★ 1/10
The Discovery poses a very interesting question. If life after death was scientifically proven, would this knowledge cause a massive wave of suicides? Oh, wait; did I say “interesting”? Actually, I meant “stupid.” Dr. Thomas Harbor (Robert Redford) claims to have discovered, in Hamlet's words, "the undiscovered country." Six months later, “the number of suicides has quickly reached one million.” They say curiosity killed the cat, but even a cat has more common sense than this. It’s impossible to take The Discovery seriously for the simple reason that millions and millions of people have believed and continue to do so in some kind of afterlife, and none of them save the most deranged and disturbed are in any hurry to cross over to the other side. What's more, these believers have no regard for scientific proof – if they did, they wouldn’t be believers at all –; to them, it all comes down to faith, which is the basis for all religions. By the same token, most religions have laws against suicide; oh, those who take their own lives do go somewhere, but it’s not a place anyone is looking forward to spending the rest of eternity at. Of course, it’s possible that the afterlife Dr. Redford has discovered is not governed according to the tenets of any one theology – but then its true nature is never specified, so who’s to say that all these idiots offing themselves aren’t punching a one-way ticket straight to hell (or worse)? One thing’s for sure, though, and it’s that these suicidal maniacs are too dumb to live anyway. All of Redford’s considerable gravitas can’t keep the good doctor from coming across as a quack, whose explanation for the afterlife sounds, accordingly, as a crock of pseudoscientific drivel. The makers of this movie undoubtedly have a low opinion of the same masses one assumes they expected to lure into watching this dreck, if they truly believe so many of us would so carelessly engage in an experiment that is tantamount to jumping into a pool that may or may not have any water in it.

Production companies