Netflix has grown a lot over the years. It used to just be a service for renting DVDs, but now it's a powerful studio that can challenge the traditional windowing period for big film producers. Netflix has put a lot of effort into its own TV shows, but the company has also supported the personal projects of famous directors such as Martin Scorsese, Joel and Ethan Coen, Alfonso Cuaron, Noah Baumbach, Guillermo del Toro, and Dee Rees. Netflix has an annoying habit of picking up interesting independent films but not advertising them when they first come out on the service. The Discovery, a hard science fiction thriller that got great reviews at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, is still one of Netflix's most underrated original movies.

Charlie McDowell wrote and directed The Discovery. He also made The One I Love, a strange love comedy, and Windfall, a smart kidnapping satire. As a director, McDowell does a great job of taking simple ideas and expanding on their moral and psychological implications. In The Discovery, he deals with themes like accepting death, scientists' responsibilities, and the closeness of father-son relationships. The Discovery paints an interesting picture of the future, and Robert Redford and Jason Segel give two great performances that make the movie even better.


What does "The Discovery" mean?

The movie The Discovery takes place in the not-too-distant future, when scientist Thomas Harbour (Robert Redford) has found "proof" of the afterlife. Thomas's original goals for his study were good, but he didn't expect the strong reactions it would get when it got a lot of attention from the media. As the number of suicides around the world rises, Thomas decides to stay alone on a remote island with his son Toby (Jesse Plemons) while they continue their studies. He also asks his other son, Will (Jason Segel), who is not at all sure about his dad's research. Will starts talking to a grieving woman named Isla (Rooney Mara) on the ferry to his father's class for people who live alone and starts to feel romantic feelings for her.

This season of The Discovery does a good job of keeping the story "timeless" by giving very little background knowledge about the world as a whole. No one ever says for sure how Thomas came to his conclusion or how he was able to show it to a large group of people. The movie does, however, talk about some interesting ideas about Thomas's duty to understand his own study. Tragically, his character is flawed because even though he has amazing knowledge about life after death, he can't persuade other people that their lives are still worth living. Thomas' lack of knowledge about mental health problems is especially clear in the way he treats Will, who is his friend.

The Discovery, like many great works of science fiction, leaves a lot of the story open to different interpretations. It's possible to see the instances that explore Isla and Will's memories as both real flashbacks and a way that the future shows itself. Some people think that Thomas' answer to death is the beginning of a new cycle in which people are given a "second chance" to change their minds, hoping making the future better. They aren't aware of their past lives, which makes The Discovery make us wonder how many times these exact events have happened.

This is a strong story about a father and his son.

There are a lot of similarities between The Discovery and modern religious groups. It also shows how people are becoming less trusting of scientists, which is a sad trend in modern society. But The Discovery is best when it focuses on the relationship between Will and Thomas. Will has always been amazed by how smart his father is, but he has never been able to connect with him on a personal level. As Thomas's fans start to praise him as a messianic figure, Will's mental instability gets worse. Because he is a Hollywood legend, Redford is a great choice to play a very powerful person. Segel once again shows how good he is at playing awkward outsiders, even though The Discovery is a much more serious story than Forgetting Sarah Marshall or I Love You, Man.

The Discovery also does a great job with its love story, with Segel and Mara having great energy together. In the same way, Isla is in a dangerous situation because a recent tragedy in her life has made her think about committing suicide. The focus is on Will to persuade Isla to stay alive, which could be seen as a refusal of what his father knows. The great work that Mara does helps break down the mind of a character who is truly troubled and feels like the world is weighing her down.

'The Discovery' is a unique sci-fi movie because it has unique elements.

The Discovery doesn't want to build a big universe as much as it wants to start a discussion. The film spends enough time explaining the background events that happen before Will goes to the island, but it doesn't try to engross the audience with information that doesn't matter for how the characters change. McDowell does add some recurring themes about waves that make them seem supernatural, but the main focus stays on the study that Thomas does in the real world. And because of this, the genre has a more emotional side because the focus is on how certain discoveries will affect the characters.

The Discovery is a family story that uses science fiction to set the scene. There aren't any action scenes like in Star Wars or the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and people who were hoping for a big, fancy visual show might be let down. But The Discovery does a good job of asking deep questions about what can be done in one life, which may be just as important.

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