THE DISCOVERY: A Failed Attempt At An Interesting Idea

Netflix has been trying to get in the movie game for a while now. They sent out plenty of well-made and entertaining shows like Daredevil and Stranger Things, and now, they want to make the big ones. However, their attempt to get into the movie business hasn’t been successful as of late. Recently, Netflix hired big name talent in hopes that it will change their bad fortune around. As competently made as The Discovery is, though, the movie follows suit with every other Netflix movie in the past.

What if you lived in a world where you knew for certain that an afterlife existed? In The Discovery, Dr. Thomas Harbor (Robert Redford) has proven the existence of an afterlife using science. Knowing this information has rocked the world and people are now committing suicide to “get there,” this causes great distress to Dr. Harbor’s son, Will (Jason Segel), who feels responsible for all these deaths. After he meets a suicidal woman, Isla (Rooney Mara), they try to discover peace, whether it may be here or in the afterlife.

Nowhere To Go

The Discovery asks many compelling questions that the world with this kind of knowledge would ask. Where do animals go after they die? Do aborted babies go to the afterlife too? These questions make for compelling dialogue as the movie’s only strength. The film also offers some darkly fascinating concepts like family suicides.

As interesting as all these are, the film doesn’t go anywhere with them. We almost never get to see the world that has been shaped by this startling news. Most of what we know are from what characters are saying to each other, and while that is compelling, you expect more from a movie. We’re rarely shown the gruesome reality post-afterlife knowledge. For as much as The Discovery talks about “getting there,”  it’s ironic that its story doesn’t go anywhere.

The characters that inhabit this world are set up to be in a moral dilemma. On the one hand, their curiosity is killing them; they want to find out what is “there.” But on the contrary, that very curiosity is what is keeping them from killing themselves. Even with that dilemma, Rooney Mara and Jason Segel come off as dull and uninspired in their performances. The romantic arc that the film tries to force on these characters doesn’t work, just like every other attempt to create a story in this movie.

Lost In Its World

Romance, drama, mystery, psychological thriller, sci-fi and horror are all genres that The Discovery tries to intertwine together. And while it’s fun to see all these genres in one movie, they pose the biggest wall for this film. These genres are the reason The Discovery‘s story isn’t as interesting as its idea. Director Charlie McDowell only briefly introduces each genre story and never fully explores them, and so a lot of the stories end up not being complete and come off as pointless.

It’s almost a crime that The Discovery is this dull with so much to pick from. I never thought that I would see a movie with this many genres be this uninspired. The film wanders for the full run time, searching for its identity. At first, it wants to be a sci-fi, then a horror, then a romance, then a mystery, then a thriller, and ultimately, becomes nothing.

Although there is no story or interesting characters, the film is beautiful to look at. The long takes and blue-gray color pallet fit the grim world perfectly. However, the lack of a story makes it feel like a hollow treat. It has the making of a great treat, but once you bite into it, you’re disappointed with the lack of filling. The Discovery has created a world that it does not have chops to live in. McDowell seems to be constantly afraid to commit and explore the darkness this world contains; it’s disappointing, to say the least.

Our Thirst For Knowledge

It’s such a shame that Netflix’s latest flick couldn’t pull through, because it did have some interesting things to say. Mostly it sticks to the same cautious message; we as people don’t think about the consequences of our actions. Finding evidence for life after death is incredible, and ethically a scientist needs to showcase his findings, but how ethical is this? The findings can be so revolutionary that maybe our human psyche isn’t fully prepared for it. What do we do with knowledge this big? Is more knowledge always good? The Discovery would tell you that it isn’t.

The characters are torn between a world in which they want to see but stuck in a world where they are sure exists. Having evidence for another world after death is terrifying news, and the characters could be so much more developed than they are. Every good idea the movie has is only but brushed on. There is so much untouched territory, and so much more potential that lies in this concept that is wasted. I would have much rather seen this type of question turn into a series. By being Netflix’s bread and butter, The Discovery would probably have been done justice, with maybe another Stranger Things-like sensation on its hands.

Conclusion

The Discovery ends up being just the “what if” question that it struggles so hard to answer. Even with Rooney Mara and Jason Segel in the lead, it’s unable to make a somewhat interesting story and in the end, that initial compelling idea is wasted in this dull and stale sci-fi film.

It would be nice if Netflix could start to produce good original movies to compete with big blockbusters. Still, we’re a far cry from it, but I have a feeling that Netflix will soon crack the code. If Netflix continues to be innovative as they have been in the past, I’m sure their future is much brighter than the world depicted in The Discovery.

Do you think Netflix has what it takes to start producing great movies? 

The Discovery is currently available on Netflix.