The Discovery
2017 | 102m | English
Popularity: 4 (history)
| Director: | Charlie McDowell |
|---|---|
| Writer: | Charlie McDowell, Justin Lader |
| Staring: |
| 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. | |
| Release Date: | Mar 31, 2017 |
|---|---|
| Director: | Charlie McDowell |
| Writer: | Charlie McDowell, Justin Lader |
| Genres: | Science Fiction, Drama, Romance, Mystery, Thriller |
| Keywords | suicide, alternative reality, life after death |
| Production Companies | Endgame Entertainment, Protagonist Pictures |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $0
Budget: $0 |
| Updates |
Updated: Feb 01, 2025 Entered: Apr 13, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| M.J. Karmi | Janice Phillips |
| Adam Khaykin | Oliver |
| Mary Steenburgen | Interviewer |
| Connor Ratliff | Coroner |
| Willie C. Carpenter | Hospital Janitor |
| Wendy Makkena | Mom |
| Lindsay Schnebly | Newscaster |
| Richard O'Rourke | Marvin (uncredited) |
| Paul Bellefeuille | Pat Phillips (uncredited) |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| Courtney Bright | Casting |
| Akin McKenzie | Production Design |
| Lynzi Grant | Visual Effects Producer |
| Sheila Grover | Costume Supervisor |
| Jesse Goldberg | Gaffer |
| Shayna Passaretti | Key Hair Stylist |
| Gianna Soprano | Set Costumer |
| Jennifer Evans | Dolly Grip |
| Isabel Cafaro-Anderson | Digital Intermediate |
| Doug Bernheim | Music Supervisor |
| Charlie McDowell | Director, Writer |
| Justin Lader | Writer |
| Keri Langerman | Costume Design |
| Saunder Jurriaans | Original Music Composer |
| Hilary Taillie | Property Master |
| Danica Chipman | Set Decoration |
| Jason Mayoh | Art Department Coordinator |
| Susanne Scheel | Casting |
| Jason Fyrberg | Sound Mixer |
| Justin Bliss | Assistant Property Master |
| David Rotondo | Construction Coordinator |
| Trish Seeney | Makeup Department Head |
| Brenda McNally | Hair Department Head |
| Arthur Hiou | Stand In |
| Zairi Malcolm | Script Supervisor |
| Seacia Pavao | Still Photographer |
| Nicole Daniels | Casting |
| Jennifer Lilly | Editor |
| Anne Mulhall | Casting |
| Kelly Doran | Boom Operator |
| Margaret Palmer | Key Set Costumer |
| Mark Filip | Foley Editor |
| Woody Bell | Key Grip |
| Alex Bickel | Digital Intermediate |
| David C. Romano | Key Grip |
| Bill Trautvetter | Second Unit Director of Photography |
| Sarah Hill Richmond | Tailor |
| John Ruggieri | Special Effects Coordinator |
| Lauren Orban | Visual Effects Producer |
| Nolan Ball | First Assistant Camera |
| Danny Bensi | Original Music Composer |
| Sturla Brandth Grøvlen | Director of Photography |
| Dann Fink | ADR Voice Casting |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Alex Orlovsky | Producer |
| James D. Stern | Producer |
| Erika Hampson | Co-Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 28 | 77 | 15 |
| 2024 | 5 | 107 | 146 | 77 |
| 2024 | 6 | 62 | 129 | 24 |
| 2024 | 7 | 22 | 40 | 10 |
| 2024 | 8 | 15 | 32 | 9 |
| 2024 | 9 | 13 | 21 | 9 |
| 2024 | 10 | 19 | 40 | 10 |
| 2024 | 11 | 12 | 22 | 8 |
| 2024 | 12 | 13 | 23 | 8 |
| 2025 | 1 | 14 | 24 | 9 |
| 2025 | 2 | 10 | 19 | 3 |
| 2025 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| 2025 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
Trending Position
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 9 | 875 | 875 |
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.