The discovery (The Discovery) is a 2017 British-American romantic fantasy film directed by Charlie McDowell from a screenplay by Justin Ladder and McDowell. The film was released in the United States on March 31, 2017.
When the scholar Thomas Harbour (Robert Redford) proves the existence of life after death, leading to a huge wave of suicides on Earth. In the second year after the discovery, Thomas' estranged son, Will (Jason Segel), arrives by ferry to the island where his father lives.
During the journey to the island, he meets Ayla (Rooney Mara) – a troubled woman who has lost her five-year-old son – with whom they talk during the journey. Upon arrival, the two say goodbye, and Will is met and driven away by his brother Toby (Jesse Plemons) at their father's estate, where a colony of people who have attempted suicide has formed. Thomas reveals that he has built a machine that can record what dead people see in the afterlife.
Walking along the beach, Will sees Ayla attempting suicide, but manages to save her and takes her to her father's house. They soon fall in love and Will shows her his father's machine. However, when Ayla is killed by a deranged colony resident, Will uses the machine to meet her in the "afterlife", but discovers things he never knew...
