REVIEW: ‘Louis Theroux’s My Scientology Movie’ Is A Hilariously Irreverent Triumph
The Church of Scientology is an untouchable entity. An organisation that has become known more for its shroud of secrecy, than for its actual religious beliefs.
By contrast, documentarian and journalist Louis Theroux‘s subjects of his BBC programs are generally an open book. Theroux prides himself and his documentaries as an immersive perspective, where he stays and engages with his targets, to show their stories beyond what the viewer expects.
In the case of Theroux’s efforts to speak to and collaborate with any of the major players within Scientology, there was no chance he would even get a foot in the door.
After being prohibited from any level of access to the inner workings of the church, the journalist instead targeted his frustrations towards the ultimate irreverent film, a movie about trying to make a movie about Scientology. Trying and failing miserably.
It’s clear that this is no regular church. This is a religious sect that boasts its own film production company dedicated to creating Hollywood quality movies to entice followers; enforces believers to go through hours of auditing, revealing their deepest secrets; requires payment in the hundred of thousands of dollars for every level a member goes up within the church; and anyone that leaves the church after signing a billion year contract will be surveillanced, stalked and subjected to constant verbal abuse.
Outsiders to the church looking in, will find themselves in a circus of strange.
Nothing as strange, as the scenes where Theroux is incessantly followed and filmed by the church itself. In some deranged juvenile logic, Scientologists announce they are making a documentary about Theroux’s documentary. In a counteractive move, it seems if anyone dares to turn their investigative lens on the religious sect, they will turn the camera back on them.
There is precedent for their threats. British journalist John Sweeney investigated the Church of Scientology for Panorama in 2007, which resulted in the church making and releasing their own documentary about Sweeney.
Theroux focuses his film on reenacting famous moments in Scientology history, hiring actors to perform to a script, with information based from the help of Marty Rathburn – an ex-high ranking member. He even auditions actors to play Tom Cruise and the church’s leader David Miscavige, in hilariously bizarre rehearsal scenes.
It is the moments of utter hilarity, that moves the film into new depths.
While HBO’s 2015 documentary Going Clear revealed Scientology from the perspective of the previous members of the cult – relaying stories and experiences of victims of Miscavige’s rule – Theroux shows the perspective of the outsider, of the audience, of the every day, dare I say, normal folk.
This is most effectively conveyed, in the scene where he hires actors to reenact some infamous Scientology training sequences. The actors go along with the bizarre games and Theroux is screamed at and told to instruct an inanimate objects to feel an emotion, but just like the audience, everyone feels alien to the experience.
In this way, Theroux instead of telling the story from the side of practicing Scientologists or even previous Scientologists, he conveys how removed their experiences are from what we know of typical examples of contemporary church models.
Scientology is the most secretive religion for good reason. It bares little resemblance to what we know of religion, and its accessibility to all.
It’s no surprise that the church congregations would give the Academy Awards a run for their money. What Theroux’s film really drives home is the performative nature of the church; everyone is acting, following a script, and only Miscavige knows the ending.
Louis Theroux: My Scientology Movie is released in Australian cinemas from 8 September 2016.