My Scientology Movie - directed by John Dower
Scientology is pretty much the perfect documentary subject.
It provides everything that you could possibly want in real life drama - celebrity, insanity, controversy, secrecy, drama, intrigue and the realisation that it is happening right now.
And as an organisation it doesn't target the usual demographic that a lot of religions do - the poor, the vulnerable and the less educated.
Scientology is after the famous... the elite.
Yes - it uses them to recruit members but as it costs a lot of money to progress within the organisation as a member they are hardly looking to the homeless or even those struggling from pay week to pay week.
So its ranks are made up of some very well known people and with people who have the money to pay for the privilege.
After "Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief" (review) I assumed that the final word on Scientology had been spoken but Louis Theroux's "My Scientology Movie" has a new angle.
Theroux sets up auditions for actors to play the major Scientology players - head of the organisation David Miscavige and high ranking member Tom Cruise.
It also quickly becomes apparent that this documentary will have a strong dose of humour.
Louis Theroux is a journalist best known for documentaries.
As this one begins there are some Twitter messages announcing his intention to explore Scientology for his latest effort.
Friends respond with cautions about the likelihood of his privacy being invaded and the need for a good lawyer and other parties send more ominous warnings.
We've heard of this before.... the intimidation tactics employed by Scientologists as soon as they are aware of an investigation into their affairs.
And ironically it is the organisations reaction to those investigating them that does more to make them an interesting target than much of what triggered the interest in the first place.
You may have heard details of the beliefs of Scientology.
From the Thetans, the reincarnation, the nuclear weapons and the volcanoes.... all utterly bizarre for sure but it pales next to the accusations from former members of abuse, coercion, blackmail and constant surveillance of those who get on the wrong side of them.
And the common thread that links this documentary with Going Clear is the idea that one man is responsible - David Miscavige.
In running auditions for actors to play the allegedly fiery, violently tempered head of Scientology one young man shines.
Andrew Perez is urged to really let fly and let fly he does with a profanity laden audition filled with threats both verbal and physical.
Former high ranking Scientologist Marty Rathbun who featured heavily in Going Clear is present and gives Perez an enthusiastic thumbs up for the accuracy of his portrayal.
Rathbun was invited along early in the piece and is explored in just as much detail as Miscavige is.
I don't know that he was aware of this going in.
In an early scene Theroux has picked Rathbun up from the airport and they discuss the plans for the documentary in their Los Angeles hotel room.
A bikini clad woman walks past their rooms window, spots the camera and enters to enquire why they are filming her.
Of course they are not but bizarrely it emerges that the woman is none other than Paz de la Huerta - an actress best known for the trashy but fun "Nurse 3D" and the tv show "Boardwalk Empire".
The phrase 'Ah... only in Los Angeles' was written for moments such as these.
Theroux wonders if de la Huerta has been sent by the Scientologists to spy on them... a 'Honey Trap' he says.
Rathbun won't have it telling Theroux that this is far too sophisticated a tactic.
A statement revealed as somewhat odd given that it won't be long before a vehicular tail is spotted, a secret compound with motions sensors visited and a series of encounters with Scientology camera crews experienced.
(I should note that there is no evidence that Paz de la Huerta is a Scientologist anyway)
These events are smattered throughout the documentary.
The pattern is that actors recreate moments from various Scientology media moments in between Theroux and Rathbun visiting Scientology locations.
One recreated moment is the famous interview that Tom Cruise did about the power of Scientology (here) and another is David Miscavige's rare interview with Ted Koppel (here)
The idea is not without merit but it kills any sense of flow to the documentary.
It jumps from random encounter to rehearsal to site visit and back again.
There are many instance where Scientology members confront Theroux and these moments are without doubt the highlights.
Theroux's dry British wit and politeness are more than a match for the empty threats and attempts at intimidation that he faces from Scientology representatives.
Had this films concentrated more on this side of things it would have been far more successful I feel.
Ultimately Theroux's film almost backs up Miscavige's claim that Rathbun is a bitter man who hates Scientology because he was removed from it.
I am all for balanced reporting but it would have been nice if Theroux had probed a little deeper at Rathbun.
He spends a lot of time staring in silence at him waiting for him to say something.
There is also a lack of input from some of the biggest and most vocal ex members - Paul Haggis and Jason Beghe.
To be fair the pair may well be sick of talking about it but regardless this film pales next to the far more indepth and informative Going Clear.
So in the end although there are laughs and some brilliant moments courtesy of Andrew Perez's fine work in playing Miscavige there is nothing new to be learned about Scientology, Miscavige or even Marty Rathbun.
RATING: 69 / 100
CONCLUSION: Amusing and not without merit but this offers no new insight into a bizarre organisation that should result in far more fascinating material than this. More funny than informative and that in itself marks this as more failure than success.
Starring: Louis Theroux, Marty Rathbun, David Miscavige, Paz de la Huerta, Rob Alter, Andrew Perez, Marc Headley, Tom Cruise, Jefferson Hawkins, Tom De Vocht, Conner Stark
Screenplay: John Dower & Louis Theroux
Music Score by: Dan Jones
Cinematography: Will Pugh
Cinematography: Will Pugh
Edited by: Paul Carlin
Running Time: 95 minutes
Language: English
Rated: M - Language (frequent f bombs)
Running Time: 95 minutes
Language: English
Rated: M - Language (frequent f bombs)
It provides everything that you could possibly want in real life drama - celebrity, insanity, controversy, secrecy, drama, intrigue and the realisation that it is happening right now.
And as an organisation it doesn't target the usual demographic that a lot of religions do - the poor, the vulnerable and the less educated.
Scientology is after the famous... the elite.
Yes - it uses them to recruit members but as it costs a lot of money to progress within the organisation as a member they are hardly looking to the homeless or even those struggling from pay week to pay week.
So its ranks are made up of some very well known people and with people who have the money to pay for the privilege.
After "Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief" (review) I assumed that the final word on Scientology had been spoken but Louis Theroux's "My Scientology Movie" has a new angle.
Theroux sets up auditions for actors to play the major Scientology players - head of the organisation David Miscavige and high ranking member Tom Cruise.
It also quickly becomes apparent that this documentary will have a strong dose of humour.
Louis Theroux is a journalist best known for documentaries.
As this one begins there are some Twitter messages announcing his intention to explore Scientology for his latest effort.
Friends respond with cautions about the likelihood of his privacy being invaded and the need for a good lawyer and other parties send more ominous warnings.
We've heard of this before.... the intimidation tactics employed by Scientologists as soon as they are aware of an investigation into their affairs.
And ironically it is the organisations reaction to those investigating them that does more to make them an interesting target than much of what triggered the interest in the first place.
You may have heard details of the beliefs of Scientology.
From the Thetans, the reincarnation, the nuclear weapons and the volcanoes.... all utterly bizarre for sure but it pales next to the accusations from former members of abuse, coercion, blackmail and constant surveillance of those who get on the wrong side of them.
And the common thread that links this documentary with Going Clear is the idea that one man is responsible - David Miscavige.
In running auditions for actors to play the allegedly fiery, violently tempered head of Scientology one young man shines.
Andrew Perez is urged to really let fly and let fly he does with a profanity laden audition filled with threats both verbal and physical.
Former high ranking Scientologist Marty Rathbun who featured heavily in Going Clear is present and gives Perez an enthusiastic thumbs up for the accuracy of his portrayal.
Rathbun was invited along early in the piece and is explored in just as much detail as Miscavige is.
I don't know that he was aware of this going in.
 |
| Real life ex-members Marty Rathbun and Marc Headley and right - an audit, far right Andrew Perez |
A bikini clad woman walks past their rooms window, spots the camera and enters to enquire why they are filming her.
Of course they are not but bizarrely it emerges that the woman is none other than Paz de la Huerta - an actress best known for the trashy but fun "Nurse 3D" and the tv show "Boardwalk Empire".
The phrase 'Ah... only in Los Angeles' was written for moments such as these.
Theroux wonders if de la Huerta has been sent by the Scientologists to spy on them... a 'Honey Trap' he says.
Rathbun won't have it telling Theroux that this is far too sophisticated a tactic.
A statement revealed as somewhat odd given that it won't be long before a vehicular tail is spotted, a secret compound with motions sensors visited and a series of encounters with Scientology camera crews experienced.
(I should note that there is no evidence that Paz de la Huerta is a Scientologist anyway)
These events are smattered throughout the documentary.
The pattern is that actors recreate moments from various Scientology media moments in between Theroux and Rathbun visiting Scientology locations.
One recreated moment is the famous interview that Tom Cruise did about the power of Scientology (here) and another is David Miscavige's rare interview with Ted Koppel (here)
 |
| Encounters mainly take place outside of the mysterious Gold Base (far right) |
It jumps from random encounter to rehearsal to site visit and back again.
There are many instance where Scientology members confront Theroux and these moments are without doubt the highlights.
Theroux's dry British wit and politeness are more than a match for the empty threats and attempts at intimidation that he faces from Scientology representatives.
Had this films concentrated more on this side of things it would have been far more successful I feel.
Ultimately Theroux's film almost backs up Miscavige's claim that Rathbun is a bitter man who hates Scientology because he was removed from it.
I am all for balanced reporting but it would have been nice if Theroux had probed a little deeper at Rathbun.
He spends a lot of time staring in silence at him waiting for him to say something.
There is also a lack of input from some of the biggest and most vocal ex members - Paul Haggis and Jason Beghe.
To be fair the pair may well be sick of talking about it but regardless this film pales next to the far more indepth and informative Going Clear.
So in the end although there are laughs and some brilliant moments courtesy of Andrew Perez's fine work in playing Miscavige there is nothing new to be learned about Scientology, Miscavige or even Marty Rathbun.
No comments:
Post a Comment