Movie Review: My Scientology Movie

My Scientology Movie ** ½ / *****

Directed by: John Dower.

Written by: John Dower & Louis Theroux.

 

I think we’re passed the point now in which we need a documentary about Scientology to tell us about the problems with Scientology – the abuse allegations against its current leader, the role Tom Cruise and other celebrities play in the public face of the religion, and how ex-Scientologists regard it as either a scam, or else feel that it has perverted their real religion. I’m not sure we need another documentary about the religion, which documents how members of that religion try to harass the filmmaker out of making the film he is currently making. Going Clear – the documentary – was able to package up all that information in one film, and the book of the same name, apparently dives into far more detail. And even if you needed more information, there is no real shortage out there. The fundamental problem with My Scientology Movie directed by John Dower, and featuring Louis Theroux, is that it never quite solves the problem of why they needed to make this movie in the first place.

 

It’s no surprise that Theroux got his start working for Michael Moore on his short lived, but excellent, show – TV Nation in the mid-1990s. Theroux has in many ways, adopting Moore’s style of documentary filmmaking – essentially showing up with a camera in places where he’s pretty sure he’s not going to be welcome, and shooting until he is forced to leave, not getting the interview he wants – but getting the footage he really needs. There is something at least slightly disingenuous about Theroux in the film – he says early he wanted to see the good side of the religion – but he had to have known that he was never going to get current scientologists to talk about their faith – and most ex-Scientologists are understandably bitter about their experience in the religion for many reasons. Theroux’s main source of info for the film is Marty Rathburn – once a very high ranking member of the religion, who says he knows all the secrets, and that they are afraid of him. To Theroux’s credit, he can be hard of Rathburn throughout the film – trying to get the truth out of him – Rathburn himself are part of those abuse allegations – and he wonders if Rathburn really stopped believing, or didn’t like the role he was be given.

 

The film tries to wrap their exploration of Scientology up in an entertaining package. Theroux casts actors to play David Miscavige and Tom Cruise – among others – and gives the whole movie a clever, amusing running narration. There are some scenes that work quite well, and overall, the film is an easy sit. Yet, I kept waiting to learn something more about Scientology, or get a different perspective on it, that really makes the film necessary. Instead, we basically get an mildly entertaining gloss on the version of events we already know.

 

I suppose if you didn’t have any knowledge of Scientology – and wanted a lighter version of it than Going Clear, than My Scientology Movie would fit the bill. But given all the information we already know, I cannot say that the film is ever anything more than an amusing sidenote.