I really liked Charlie McDowell’s The One I Love, so imagine my disappointment when I watched The Discovery and found that it’s a pile of reluctant, hedging, self-doubting faux-spiritual feel-good nonsense. (“Feel-good” might be a stretch, but boy, the movie bends over backwards to get in as many cheap hugs as possible.) I didn’t hate it, but I came very close. It certainly isn’t good. Per custom, I did a thing about it for Paste Magazine, which you will hopefully be kind enough to read.
A Constant Visual Feast 
Your review contains this comment:
“The film starts as he prepares to give a live interview with a TV journalist (played inexplicably by Mary Steenburgen)”
Here’s the explanation: (1) Writer-Director Charlie McDowell wants an actor as recognizable as possible to pair with Redford, so you’re assuming these are the leads and will be thinking about what they will do and not be expecting the shot
(2) The part of the journalist is pure nothingburger– ask a few questions to bring out the exposition and then never (once the scene ends) appear again.
(3) Since he probably didn’t have much money to offer, Mr. McDowell (as the NY TIMES might call him) needed to find an actress who (as Sally Field might say) “really REALLY likes” him.
(4) Mary Steenburgen is his MOM. (She was married to Malcolm McDowell, remember?)
This is the same reason Steenburgen is Ted Danson’s guitar teacher in a ten-second scene in the final episode of THE GOOD PLACE. She is a very nice lady who does not seem all that interested in acting anymore, but does seem to like doing stuff for her family.
Although “Mom, do you want to do a one-on-one scene with Bob Redford?” was a pretty good pitch.