My Scientology Movie

Last year, Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief hit the big screen, challenging almost every aspect of Scientology in a way that only Alex Gibney could. It was so enthralling that it ended up on my Top 5 of the year list. Now, charmingly pressing filmmaker Louis Theroux has released My Scientology Movie, which takes a very different approach - the logical antipode of Going Clear.

After Louis Theroux has multiple requests to cooperate in making his documentary denied by the Church of Scientology, he begins interviewing Mark Rathbun, a former church official who held a very senior position. Mark helps Louis to make dramatic reconstructions of incidents within the church that he witnessed over the years, particularly involving mysterious church leader David Miscavige

The one core element that makes this film work so well is Theroux’s style. His nonchalant manner of provocation not only combats the Church’s aggressive pursuing tactics but provides plenty of laughs, and there sure are a lot of laughs. From dueling camera crews, police encounters, idiotically elaborate security systems and Mark Rathburn hosing down the church’s ‘squirrel busters’, what we get is a familiar mix of dark comedy masked in Theroux’s unique brand of quaintness - always walking a fine line with the subject matter.

Where with others the church’s harassing has completely halted any attempts to defame their name, Theroux plays them at their own game, throwing them the shovel and letting them dig themselves into a hole. Sure it’s unlikely to sway the opinion of Scientologists themselves - from both these documentaries it seems that most members are either mentally unstable or are being blackmailed into not leaving - but considering the reach of Theroux’s other work, this may well be more influential than Going Clear.

Theroux manages to move so seamlessly onto the silver screen in My Scientology Movie by embracing the format itself. From the opening splash-text, to the bombastic soundtrack, to the employed editing style, he’s able to effectively stereotype the basic language of film - which is what allows his plan to reconstruct events that Rathbun has witnessed to work. He takes the core problem to other people’s approach and flips it on its head - if he can’t go to them, make them come to him. The bonus that you don't really see in Gibney's documentary is the multi-faceted personality of Rathbun - due to Theroux's approach, at a few points you question if  Mark might be going to snap. It’s all very intriguing and a completely different approach when compared to Going Clear, which makes it the perfect companion piece.

It’s nigh-impossible to top Gibney’s Going Clear, and Louis Theroux doesn’t try to. He takes a route that’s as uniquely Theroux as Going Clear is as uniquely Gibney, and certainly if you’re looking to get your documentary fix, these two would work perfectly as a double feature. Sadly My Scientology Movie is on extremely limited release, but keep an eye out for it on TV in the future, because this is Theroux at his best.

Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief

"Scientology is a journey into the mind of L Ron Hubbard. The more you get into it, the more like L Ron Hubbard you become."

Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief is the latest documentary by Alex Gibney (The Armstrong Lie, Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God) and offers an insight into the secretive nature of the Church of Scientology.

Obviously a documentary that takes aim at a religious institution is going to be potentially controversial, and Gibney has a track record of unfaltering, sincere pieces. This is no different. Gibney interviews ex-members of the organisation, ranging from actors, to high level executives, all of whom provide a great deal of information about the indoctrinations of the church and many incredibly disturbing details about what goes on behind the scenes. 

Going Clear is an unflinching critique of The Church of Scientology, its basis as essentially a tax dodge, and the ways in which it manipulates its members, sometimes even to the extent of psychological disorders. The first half of the documentary details the life of L Ron and the development of the church during his lifetime. He is purported to have said early on that the only way to make money is to become a religion, hence he wrote Dianetics, which became the basis of the theology behind Scientology. Several years into the creation of the church and after being personally pursued by the IRS and others, L Ron created the Sea Organisation, allowing him to move around on the open seas, tax exempt and with his followers as essentially his slaves. More intriguing is the fact that, in his later years, not only did L Ron believe in the scriptures of his own creation, but he supposedly became increasingly paranoid about a powerful thetan (what's known as a 'spirit' under Scientology) inhabiting his body. L Ron Hubbard is characterised in Going Clear as inherently insane, and this is highly effective in painting the church in a negative light.

The second part focuses on Scientology under the leadership of David Miscavige and the 'war' he waged with the IRS; which is put into context by Mike Rinder and Mark Rathbun, the two former executives of the church interviewed for the documentary. We see the massive Scientologist gatherings - complete with dancers and fireworks - that are compared to Nazi propaganda pieces, where Miscavige celebrates the church's re-status as tax exempt and shouting "the war is over!". The imagery is incredibly disturbing. Tom Cruise and the church's influence on him, his status as an "asset" to Scientology, details an arrogance in the famous actor that is seemingly played-on by Miscavige. Other areas touched upon include the practically free labour that the Church gains from its Sea Org, the psychological troubles, imprisonment of members, physical abuses by Miscavige and the ridiculous estates that the church constructs from the tax-free donations of its members. 

Gibney's brutally honest Going Clear has a very strong message:"All Scientologists are full of shit", and furthermore there are horrific abuses conducted by the church that deserve to come to life. The interviewees are insightful and perfectly supported by the visual montages throughout. It's difficult to view Scientology as anything other than an abusive, manipulative cash cow after watching this documentary.