London Film Festival review - My Scientology Movie

It all gets a bit meta for Louis in My Scientology Movie

What do you do if you want to make a documentary about people who refuse to speak to you? This was the problem facing Louis Theroux and director John Dower when they started making a film about the Church of Scientology. Their solutions, while creating plenty of interesting moments, unfortunately do not result in a fully satisfying look at the organisation, or the motivations of the people drawn to it.

The first solution was to talk to ex-Scientologists, since practicing ones wouldn't be involved. Most of these now campaign against the Church and its controversial leader David Miscavige. The majority of the film shows Louis getting to know Mark Rathbun, who was Miscavige’s right hand man until 2004.

The second solution is a bit weirder. Louis decides to recreate scenes from the history of Scientology using actors, with Mark directing proceedings based on his recollections. The process of casting the parts is hilarious, and the actor they find to play Miscavige is amazing (he deserves a successful film career, but could have ruined his chances if Scientology still holds any sway in Hollywood). However, I am not convinced that this conceit makes any sense - they aren't really trying to make a film about Scientology, so it's just an excuse to get Mark to talk about his experiences, like some sort of drama therapy.

The filming sessions do get the attention of the Church, though, and unsurprisingly they aren't happy about it. Pretty soon Louis is being followed and filmed himself (a common tactic of Scientology), and this leads to some very bizarre - and of course funny - situations.

Other film makers have successfully made films without access to their subjects, most notably Michael Moore in Roger & Me (where he went on a mission to talk to the head of General Motors, meeting people affected by factory closures along the way). But Michael and Louis have very different styles. Michael always has a message to push through. Louis's documentaries - and I've been a fan of them since Weird Weekends back in the day - are more experiential. He disarms his subjects through his interviews, getting to know them, slowly revealing their inner workings, and never really taking a side. The interviews are everything.  

Unfortunately for My Scientology Movie, Mark Rathbun is not a particularly fascinating interviewee, remaining prickly throughout. Louis never really gets a chance to properly press him on his involvement in the alleged abusive practices at Sea Org, Scientology's elite base. We never even find out when he joined the Church, or how he managed to climb so high in the hierarchy, only that he feels persecuted since leaving.

My Scientology Movie is Louis's first feature-length film, but just isn't his best work. It doesn't get deep enough into the psyche of the interviewees, or tell you enough about Scientology, for my liking. However, that doesn't mean it's bad and it is still definitely worth seeing. Spending a few hours with Louis is always lovely. And Scientology is always good value because of its intense strangeness.