The Discovery

The idea behind the premise of The Discovery is an interesting one but its implementation isn't as refined as expected and only works in bits n pieces. It's a thoughtful feature that experiments with existential elements and poses some intriguing questions but it neither presents it in a convincing manner nor remains thoroughly gripping.

Set in the near-future, the story of The Discovery takes place in a world where suicide rate is at an all-time high after a scientist's breakthrough research proved the existence of an afterlife. The plot follows his son who is skeptical of his father's discovery and a mysterious young woman he meets on a ferry who wants to find out more about the afterlife.

Co-written & directed by Charlie McDowell, the film opens with a prologue that skilfully sets up the future the rest of the plot unfolds in. For a while, it appears as if the director is taking more time to properly establish the characters & explore the metaphysical elements but the longer it continues to ponder over the same stuff, the more tedious it becomes.

The script is where the problem lies, for the brilliant hypothesis that the writers came up with isn't meticulously explored as if they couldn't figure out what to do with it, plus none of the characters inhabiting its future-setting are compelling enough. The plot wrapped around its theory begins on a promising note but by the time it ends, it finds itself in a familiar territory.

The cold colour palette, overcast ambiance & muted textures evoke a grim, hopeless future which fits the story requirements. Pacing is an issue as the movie plods through its 102 minutes runtime before concluding with a rushed ending. Rooney Mara, Robert Redford & Jesse Plemons play their part well but Jason Segel is severely miscast, and his chemistry with Mara is absolutely flat.

On an overall scale, The Discovery is one of those sci-fi flicks that teases with a fascinating idea but is unable to fill a compact & captivating narrative structure around it. Deficient in storytelling department and further marred by its cluelessness & lack of vision, it is a dull & sterile mess that had the opportunity to offer a sensory & stimulating experience but what it ultimately delivers is a cinematic ride that's as frustrating as it is hollow.

They bait you into thinking that this will provide for some interesting ideas for you to reflect on, but nope.

The main problem is that the story doesn't hold. I mean, the message of the movie is good and inspiring, but the story is just a mess that is full of holes.

They just took one good old movie and re-told it slightly adjusting the focus. I won't spoil it for you so check this out if you're interested anyways.

But be warned, this movie is slow and packs quite a run time. What's more interesting is that they actually stretch it out intentionally, it has a lot of unnecessary scenes they should've cut and it wouldn't hurt the movie. Probably they had a run time to meet or something.

The dialogue is often forced, some scenes are written so badly they are barely believable. Also, the lead seriously underperforms, his acting is unconvincing and he is unable to deliver emotional moments (you'll see).

If you're a hardcore sci-fi fan, the ending will disappoint you (mostly because of how random it is). But you will know long before that the movie is going nowhere.

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

'THE DISCOVERY': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

A sci-fi romantic drama about a world where an afterlife has been scientifically proven, and how that knowledge drastically affects society. It was directed by Charlie McDowell, and it was written by McDowell and Justin Lade (the duo also teamed on 2014's 'THE ONE I LOVE'). The film stars Jason Segel, Rooney Mara, Robert Redford, Jesse Plemons, Riley Keough and Ron Canada. It's received mixed reviews from critics, and it was released by Netflix through their streaming site. I found the movie itself to be a little disappointing, due to the extremely promising premise and setup.

The story takes place two years after 'the discovery of an afterlife', by Thomas Harbor (Redford). The scientific proof of an afterlife has caused an extremely dramatic increase in suicides. Thomas's son, Will (Segel), blames his father for the high suicide rate. He travels to see him, at an isolated mansion, where Thomas is doing more research on his findings. Will meets a suicidal woman on his trip, named Isla (Mara), who he later prevents from killing herself. He then brings Isla to his father's mansion, and the two assist him in his research there. The whole time Will is extremely skeptical about the damage they're doing to society, with these new findings.

The movie is extremely dark and depressing, for almost it's entire running length. Like I said, the idea for the film is really intriguing, and fascinating, but it's definitely not fun watching it play out. The performances are decent, and the climax is somewhat interesting, and unpredictable, as well. I had hoped for a lot more from it though, when I started watching it.

I wasn't sure about seeing this film because of the rating, but the concept was interesting and being a fan of Rooney Mara's work I decided to give it a shot. And I am glad I did.

The opening scene is very well done because it grabs your attention from the first second. But what comes after is what bothered most of the viewers who felt disappointed - the personal story line between Jason Siegel's and Rooney Mara's characters becoming the center of attention instead of the concept of an afterlife and how it works.

Personally, while watching the movie, I did feel a little bit deceived, because "the discovery" took a back seat, BUT after finishing the movie it all made sense. I think the film was very well structured and managed to get across it's idea and explanation of how afterlife works very well to the audience, without having to talk about it and explain it in every scene as if the viewers are little children. I do not agree with some statements that the concept of "the discovery" was not well done, finished or explained well. Last 10 min. do contain a lot of information and the viewer should pay attention.

The acting was very good, however overall I must agree that it is not the most exciting film. What I mean is that it won't be in your "most memorable or favorite"movie list. It's a good watch on lazy night though. Give it a go.