My Scientology Movie

I am a big fan of Louis Theroux, and also enjoy him in this documentary. But it kind of misses its mark. Louis never gets to spend much time with Scientologists (though not for lack of trying), which is sad, as those few bizarre moments are the clear highlight of the documentary. Instead, he goes on a mission to make a vague reenactment of certain moments in David Miscavige's life, as a way to explore the background and motives behind the organization and Miscavige himself. It's not that interesting, and it doesn't really reveal much beyond what you learn from other documentaries on the same subject (Going clear, for instance).

The meetings with former church members are alright, and there is at least a couple of really good moments with them. But perhaps because they are not the people he is after, Louis never probes that deep into them. If he did, those moments does not end up on screen.

It's a documentary worth watching if you like his stuff, but it's not as good as many of the episodes of his shows.

Louis Theroux documents his investigation into what goes on behind the scenes of the infamous Church of Scientology.

As of right now (2017), there are two big documentaries on Scientology. This one, and the one made by HBO. Frankly, the HBO one is a bit better and definitely a must-see. This one is also good, and while it covers much of the same ground, it does go into other areas, too. Theroux, to his credit, seems to have very little fear of being arrested and gets some great footage near the base.

This film does have some strange narrative devices, such as casting actors in the roles of real Scientologists and then having them act out events that allegedly occurred. One scene in particular (in "the hole") is very effective. The casting of "Tom Cruise", unfortunately, never seems to go anywhere.

People that know nothing about scientology will find this movie to be a little bit confusing, and people that know about scientology will find the movie a little bit boring.

My Scientology Movie has some funny scenes and interesting moments, but in the end you don't get a really profound impression of what the "church" is all about. Alex Gibney's Going Clear does a way better job, tackling the same subject.

Doing press for his film, Louis Theroux talked negatively about Alex Gibney's Going Clear, calling it a "talking heads" movie, and that My Scientology Movie used a more interesting approach. This is where Theroux is wrong, dead wrong.

When you start talking about scientology, a thousand questions pop up, and those questions need to be answered. And that is where Going Clear prospers and My Scientology Movie ends up being a missed opportunity.

A great movie, by the master of documentaries and as always it was both funny and enlightening. I don't want to spoil anything but definitely worth the watch and if you like louis theroux you know what to expect already.

As Scientology of course denied access to any of its higher up people Louis improvised and created a unique documentary that can finally allow people to see what Scientology is and what the people are really like within it.

Not sure about the other review, he must of been a Scientology troll. How can anyone not trust Louis :)

I find Scientology and cults in general a fascinating subject and have watched most documentaries on the subject including the most recent one by Alex Gibney, Going Clear. Both this and Going Clear are excellent exposes but in different ways. As one reviewer said Going Clear is more factual whilst this one gives you a better feeling of Scientology is all about - a good description in my opinion.

I've often got the feeling that Scientology is somewhere between a cult and a religion but this film, more than any other, puts it squarely in the cult category.

Right from the outset you get a feel for this. Requests for interviews by Theroux are turned down by the church an almost unheard of response for an organisation that large. Most will have P.R departments ready to go to any and all media interests.

This makes it hard for Theroux of course. His usual film making style is subtle and he spends considerable time those involved, something impossible with this subject.

So he decides to use actors and actresses to re-enact some of the abuse by the organisation's head, David Miscavige. This is powerful stuff which is different to simply hearing reports of the same abuse.

But I found the real behaviour of the real Scientologists even more damning, particularly when coupled with commentary by ex-Scientologists. Near the end of the film the organisation sent a letter to Louis Theroux saying because he was making a documentary about them they intended to make a documentary about him. Such a response seemed just so totally infantile, like a young child's tit for tat: if you take mine I'll take yours kind of response. On top of the rest of the film this gave an insight into just how separated this group is from mainstream society - to even think that was an appropriate response.

All in all one comes away with the a real sense that Scientology is run by a powerful and paranoid sociopath who has somehow managed to get away with what he is doing for years. A great effort by Theroux that worked much better than his older documentary on another cult: the Westboro Baptist Church.