The Discovery
Netflix | Release Date: March 31, 2017 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
54
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
10
Negative:
4
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperMar 30, 2017
You need to be strapped in and focused for director and co-writer Charlie McDowell’s ambitious, unnerving, slightly loopy and beautifully ambivalent gem, which only tackles the question: How would people react if there was absolute proof of an afterlife? Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Mar 29, 2017
At the very least, its central mystery keeps you guessing, right up until a final turn that’s nearly as clever as it is convoluted. Read full review
75
The Film StageJordan RaupJan 22, 2017
By concurrently threading the needle of both the hereafter and emotional breakthroughs for our characters, it can make the plot schematics feel too tidy in their construction, but the journey in finding how these elements fit together is never less than engrossing. Read full review
75
IndieWireDavid EhrlichJan 22, 2017
By turns resoundingly human and regretfully half-baked, the film wears its influences on its sleeve. Read full review
67
ConsequenceDominick Suzanne-MayerApr 2, 2017
That world is so well-realized that the film is worth seeing, but it’s a mild letdown given the number of philosophical queries that it raises, only to leave ultimately unexplored. Read full review
60
ScreenCrushE. Oliver WhitneyApr 6, 2017
Conceptually, it’s an ambitious undertaking; but as fascinating and perplexing as it all is, I’m not sure McDowell’s film really achieves its goals. Read full review
60
Village VoiceApril WolfeMar 29, 2017
While the film is ambitious, with enough intrigue and uneasy moral quandaries to keep my attention rapt in the end it just doesn’t make the leap to the other side. Read full review
60
The New York TimesNeil GenzlingerMar 29, 2017
The story stays intriguing for much of the way, but eventually things cease to make sense. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyJan 22, 2017
Unfortunately, after its fine start, this brainy slice of provocative speculative fiction slowly but surely loosens its grip on audience involvement rather than increasing it. Read full review
60
Screen DailyTim GriersonJan 22, 2017
While the movie overdoes the plot twists and existential musings, The Discovery is a diverting head-trip whose reach far exceeds its grasp. Read full review
60
VarietyDennis HarveyJan 22, 2017
Though The Discovery starts out with a great premise, its mystery dissipates over a somewhat tepid course as the concept ultimately heads in a direction we’ve seen many times before, and depends overmuch on chemistry that fails to materialize between stars Jason Segel and Rooney Mara. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesGlenn WhippMar 30, 2017
Director Charlie McDowell, who co-wrote the film with Justin Lader, sidesteps the material’s more intriguing ideas, ultimately settling for a conventional story about love, loss and second chances. The disappointment comes not in the lack of answers but in the relative absence of audacity in tackling such a trippy concept. Read full review
50
The PlaylistGregory EllwoodJan 22, 2017
Unlike McDowell and Lader’s underrated 2014 comedic thriller “The One I Love” the most disappointing aspect of The Discovery is that it’s something of a bore. And when you find out what “The Discovery” really is you simply don’t care anymore. Read full review
40
We Got This CoveredDavid JamesApr 6, 2017
The Discovery has a fantastic premise but lacks the ambition. imagination or intellect to explore it satisfyingly. Instead, we're left with a gloomy, thinly written emotional drama. Read full review
40
The GuardianJordan HoffmanJan 22, 2017
The final act is a pineal flooding of baffling explanations and twists. What’s worse is that there is very little drama underpinning it; by this late stage the collected characters are still stuck dredging up their backstories, doing little to propel the narrative forward. Read full review
38
Movie NationRoger MooreMar 20, 2018
This Charlie McCarthy (“The One I Love”) drama is sci-fi at its cheapest, a Netflix film that relies on location, weather and quiet to set its tone and a very good cast to make it watchable. Read full review
38
RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyMar 31, 2017
The entire thing feels like it's happening underwater, sound distorted, movements impeded. A lot happens, but without any urgency inspiring it. Read full review
35
The VergeChris PlanteApr 3, 2017
An exceptional cast does their damnedest with what they have, but the lines hang dully in the air. It’s like watching a high-school play starring a gaggle of anxious teens. Read full review
30
New York Magazine (Vulture)Emily YoshidaMar 30, 2017
This is peak TV in a feature-film package, a faux-deep, workmanlike script splashed with some strikingly moody sci-fi imagery tailor-made for a YouTube trailer. It aspires to eerie and constantly ends up at belabored and literal. Read full review
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