The Discovery

In the near future, scientist Thomas Harbor announces proof that consciousness continues after death. The discovery sets off a wave of suicides worldwide, as people end their lives hoping to reach whatever comes next. Harbor retreats to a remote island in New England to continue his research, surrounded by a group of followers who assist his experiments. His son Will returns to the home where he grew up, intending to confront his father, and brings along a young woman named Isla, whose reasons for being there are her own. What they find suggests Harbor's work has advanced further than Will expected.

Charlie McDowell directed and co-wrote the film with Justin Lader, following his debut The One I Love; Windfall and The Summer Book came later. Jason Segel plays Will, Rooney Mara plays Isla, and Robert Redford plays Thomas Harbor, with Jesse Plemons, Riley Keough and Ron Canada in supporting roles. The production had a budget of 5 million dollars.

On IMDb, the film holds a rating of 6.2 out of 10 from around 40,000 votes, and on TMDB it sits at 6.3 from roughly 1,500 votes. A critics' rating of 5.6 from 64 reviews places it slightly below the audience scores, indicating a mixed professional response.