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The Discovery

The Discovery

Drama · Romance · Science Fiction · 2017

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.

Movie details

The Discovery

2017 Drama · Romance · Science Fiction 1h 42m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.3 / 10

Community rating

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.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Discovery?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Charlie McDowell

Written by

Justin Lader · Charlie McDowell

Jason Segel

Jason Segel

Will Harbor

Rooney Mara

Rooney Mara

Isla

Robert Redford

Robert Redford

Dr. Thomas Harbor

Jesse Plemons

Jesse Plemons

Toby Harbor

Riley Keough

Riley Keough

Lacey

Ron Canada

Ron Canada

Cooper

Brian McCarthy

Brian McCarthy

Andy

Court is in session

Put The Discovery on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.