The Discovery (2017)

	Directed by: Charlie McDowell	COUNTRY USA/UK GENRE Sci-Fi/Romance NORWEGIAN TITLE The Discovery RUNNING TIME 102 minutes
	Produced by: Alex Orlovsky James D. Stern
	Written by: Justin Lader Charlie McDowell

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Isla	Rooney Mara	½
Will Harbor	Jason Segel
Toby Harbor	Jesse Plemons
Lacey	Riley Keough
Thomas Harbor	Robert Redford
Cooper	Ron Canada
Interviewer	Mary Steenburgen

Review

This film opens with an inventive and thought-provoking premise with potential for deep existential discussions and powerful drama: Scientist Robert Redford claims to have found neurological evidence for an afterlife, something which sparks a suicide epidemic across the world. Although writer/director Charlie McDowell manages to keep both these potentials smouldering throughout the film, he admits about halfway through that he really doesn't have that much new to say or propose, instead resorting to a mushy romance which Rooney Mara and Jason Segel never come close to give the necessary weight or chemistry. Besides, their dull characters don't deserve film happiness. It's Robert Redford's and Jesse Plemons' characters who are the most interesting here (the latter building effectively on Philip Seymour Hoffman's precious legacy), but their screen time are pushed aside to make room for said romance.