The Discovery (2017)

On the acting front Segel shines as the guilt-ridden Will and his chemistry with Mara is phenomenal. If you only know him from How I Met Your Mother and think he's only a comedic actor like I did, think again. His performance will pleasantly surprise despite his character sometimes being a little too one note.

Mara meanwhile continues her streak of strong performances, bringing a depth and nuance to the standard grieving mother character. Yes she's suicidal but overtime Isla begins to develop a sense of purpose. There's an evolution to the character and she's maybe the most well-developed of all of them. The only thing I found distracting was the naturally brunette's, blond hair. But that's really just nitpicking.

The most disappointing however was Robert Redford. At this point in his career he seems to be playing...well...Robert Redford in every movie.

Rooney is one of the most talented young actresses we have in this planet. For me it was about capturing the sort of quiet moments (...) In the scene just can let her go and it feels so deeply. She´s a person who doesn´t want to be seen which is really interesting. Just a few actors have that quality because the nature of what they´re doing is just "look at me". She´s someone doesn´t want to be seen and sort of floats under the radar. And to me, when you put a camera on someone like that beautiful images come from that. I think you feel so much from her and there is so much behind what she´s doing but you have to put the camera in order to understand and get that.




Charlie McDowell

13. The Discovery
The Discovery was Netflix’s biggest movie release to date back when it debuted in March, and with stars Jason Segel and Rooney Mara on board it was all set to generate the same buzz as the hottest Netflix Original Series. But then… nothing. A sci-fi thriller about what happens when an afterlife is unequivocally proven to exist, The Discovery ironically was discovered by no one and never discussed once it hit Netflix.

To say that more people should have watched The Discovery is an understatement. Considering that Netflix is spending subscribers’ money to land blockbuster titles, it makes sense that subscribers should want to check out the films their money is going towards. But buzz failed to generate for the movie and it just kind of died on arrival, with no afterlife to be seen. And though the movie wasn’t as spectacular, revolutionary, or entertaining as it could have been based on the premise, it’s still a solid movie that’s perfect for enjoying on a Saturday night in front of the TV.