The Discovery
Directed by Charlie McDowell
- drama
- romance
- science fiction
- thriller
- mystery
The story
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.
What it’s like
Cool, overcast daylight and pale, sterile interiors give this film a hushed, bewildered look, with long, unhurried takes that let quiet rooms and faces hold the frame. The palette runs to greys, muted blues and clinical whites, and the sound is sparse, with long stretches of near silence and an understated score that lets unease gather slowly. Set in a near future where an afterlife has been scientifically confirmed, it is a detached, ambiguous, cerebral romance and mystery in which a grieving son and a mysterious young woman drift through an isolated compound of strange followers. Suicide is the film's central premise: it is discussed constantly, its aftermath is glimpsed, and a few moments touch on it directly, but nothing is shown in graphic detail, and violence is minimal. The pacing is slow and contemplative, with a melancholy, searching emotional register. It suits a quiet, rainy evening alone, for viewers who want philosophical science fiction and bittersweet, unresolved relationships rather than action or suspense, and who can handle heavy subject matter treated with restraint.
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