“The Discovery” skims over eschatological questions

NETFLIX has an enviable commissioning record. “Orange is the New Black” has reached a seventh series, while the grimly prescient “House of Cards” has racked up 33 Emmy nominations. In 2016, Netflix spent around $5bn on 600 hours of fresh content, including “Luke Cage”, “The Crown” and the cultish and much-loved “Stranger Things”. So far, much of their success has come from television series rather than feature films. Other than the odd critical hit, such as Cary Fukunaga’s “Beasts of No Nation” and Ava DuVernay’s “13th”, most offerings have been lacklustre. Earlier this week, Quartz reported that the streaming service’s most popular original releases were a dull pair of Adam Sandler comedies. (Four more were promptly commissioned.)

“The Discovery” was perhaps intended as a high-brow counterpoint to such mulch. In a near-present world created by screenwriters Justin Lader and Charlie McDowell (who also directs), scientific proof of life after death results in an epidemic of mass suicides as people abandon their lives in...Continue reading