My Scientology Movie: Review

Director: John Dower
Cast: Louis Theroux

Criticising Louis Theroux is not something that comes naturally or feels welcome to the humble reviewer. With his quintessentially British, quietly polite inquiries, he tends to ask the questions at the forefront of the viewer’s mind. Oftentimes unsettling his subjects with his interrogation of the most well-mannered kind, his programmes are frequently amusing and profound, but always engaging. Thus it is painful to express the ubiquitous disappointment that was present in the cinema at the special screening of My Scientology Movie.

In the Question and Answer session following this showing of the film, Theroux was asked what it was that he could bring to the topic to give a fresh approach or shed new light. Notoriously difficult to infiltrate, the ‘religion’ of Scientology has been explored numerous times before. There was a definite lack of coverage of new ground. From various previous exposés of the enigmatic so-called ‘cult’, such as Panorama’s Scientology and Me (in which severe aggravation from a church member lead to the infamous outburst from John Sweeney), it is common knowledge that David Miscavige – Chairman of the Board, The Religious Technology Centre- has allegedly been violent towards some Scientologists. The religion has also been painted as an organisation that abuses members and harasses those who investigate it. It is unfortunate that Louis did not succeed in uncovering much first-hand information- in particular as it is a ninety-minute feature, not a one-off TV episode.

The new slant that My Scientology Movie offered was intriguing, but ineffectual. Louis chose to audition actors to play key figures such as David Miscavige and Tom Cruise, in order to recreate scenes that had supposedly happened, with the help of Marty Rathbun, an ex-Senior Executive of the church. Marty is an unfathomable presence throughout the film, and one of the redeeming features. It is difficult to pin down whether he is a disgruntled former member or clandestinely wants to return to the church. The re-enactments however do not fare well, and it is dissatisfying that we cannot be sure as to whether or not they are accurate. One fleeting shot showed the actors representing Miscavige and Cruise playing backgammon against one another. This was both unnecessary and highlighted the confusion we feel when trying to identify what is true here.

The most entertaining segments of the documentary involve Louis doing what he does best- throwing caution to the wind and facing the subject unapologetically head-on. An excellent moment occurs when he detects two apparent Scientologist moles that are filming him and the crew. He unflinchingly quizzes them as to who they are. Similarly later on, he doesn’t take no for an answer when a Scientologist and her cameraman appear and insist that he is trespassing. When she demands that Louis’ cameraman stops recording, Louis asks the same of hers, and it escalates into a brilliantly petty argument of ‘You stop filming!’, ‘No! You stop filming!’. 

The scenes of re-enactment are perhaps one of the major downfalls of the movie, not quite fulfilling a goal of a complete docu-drama, but then due to the difficulty of access to any new revelations of the subject matter, it’s not quite a fully-bloomed documentary either. While the film is substandard on examining the issues at hand, it is still enjoyable, thanks to Theroux’s charisma. Although it is hard to speak negatively of the journalist, it’s only expected that he produces something a little second-rate after all of his victories.

MS