Sundance 2017 – The Discovery

The Discovery may be the discovery of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.  With an intelligent script, excellent acting, and unique story, this is a science fiction love story you don’t want to miss.

In a not-so distant future, Thomas Harbor (Robert Redford) has discovered that an afterlife does exist, which causes millions of suicides across the world.  His son, Will (Jason Segel), goes to visit his father and convince him to shut down his research, all while meeting a girl named Isla (Rooney Mara).

Funnyman Jason Segel gave his first, real dramatic performance in 2015’s, The End of the Tour, playing the troubled and complicated author David Foster Wallace perfectly and unlike anything we’ve ever seen Segel do before.  Now, in The Discovery, Segel proves that performance wasn’t a fluke.  He is excellent as the conflicted Will.  He shows even more range than The End of the Tour, while also keeping some of his humor.  Mara gives a quirky, tragic role and the tortured Isla.  Robert Redford really impressed me as a doctor who’s blind ambition gets the best of him.  And I have to give a shoutout to Jesse Plemons, who is a scene-stealer as Harbor’s other son and number one worker.

This a story that begs conversation about the ethics behind Harbor’s discovery.  What would you do if you knew the afterlife was real?  Is Harbor responsible for all increasing suicides?  You ask these questions to yourself through out the entire film, until the final act, which throws in a twist that had my jaw on the floor.  It brings up even more questions and has you start thinking about the actions that happened in the movie.  As soon as the movie ended, I wanted to give it a rewatch.  And, it has a new, interesting love story, thanks to the chemistry between our two leads.  This is a smart and tricky screenplay that is the one to beat in 2017.

The Discovery is a truly special film.  A film that is intriguing, complex, complicated, and sweet movie with excellent performances and a mind-blowing ending.  This is easily one of the best movies of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.

MY RATING – 4/4

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