Louis Theroux - My Scientology Movie

[DukeDeMondo]

A bit of a nothing, all things considered. Predictably enough, Louis and John Dower find little in Hubbard's cupboards that hasn't already been picked at a thousand times over by folk with far clearer goals. There's nothing here that hasn't been covered in the excellent Going Clear. Indeed, some of the stuff thrown about doesn't even make sense unless you've seen that film. Similarly, whilst the "getting actors to recreate events" is diverting enough, and does make thematic sense given the apparent emphasis on theatricality and performance within Scientology itself, it can't help but bring to mind The Act Of Killing, another film that actually had something to say and said it in a way that threw you down the stairs.

It does occasionally point towards things fascinating and intriguing and potentially incendiary, but only points. The final scenes in particular suggest that something truly gripping and substantial could have been wrung from it all, but it ends where someone like Nick Broomfield at his peak would have started, leaving you with something that's entertaining, for sure, but no more than. 

In all, a bit disappointing given it's our man's first Proper film. Mostly all it achieves is to remind people of two genuinely stunning documentaries that came out a while ago.

[Skip Bittman]

Worth it for Rathbun, pushing him a bit more worked for the film and I enjoyed it a lot more than Going Clear, which just feels like Alex Gibney Inc. assigning editing homework to his employees.

The Miscavige actor was a lot of fun and it was great seeing the TRs and a sadistic Rathbun in his element on screen, more light shined on their weird activities can't hurt.

I hope I get to see David Miscavige get his Magnificent Ambersons-style comeuppance in my lifetime. Just chipping away over time at their untouchability and legal armor is a positive thing, 20 years ago there sure as hell wouldn't be SEVERAL docs being cranked out about Scientology. So it's rather nice to be sniffy about them instead of wondering why nobody is paying attention to what the OT set is up to.

[hewantstolurkatad]

Yep, that's all on point. Theroux isn't a very good documentary maker beyond his usual thing. Errol Morris with that angry dude could have pulled something pretty interesting out of him.

Also, I know that "it was a public road" part at the end was a joke but it absolutely worked as a sincere wrap up to the whole thing, a total damp squib.



RE going clear, that's a serviceable film version of a very good book. It's heaps better than this but Gibney is also extremely limited in his own way (he's nearly the polar opposite of Theroux, I much prefer him but am not a huge fan of either)

[Pissant]

Maybe he got a big dark secret so they cut out all the good bits?  I also found it engaging but flat.  Is deliberately invading their space and goading them with a camera really that different than all these rich white idiots running around youtube winding up black people?

And I also thought louie crossed the line a bit to fire off the accusations at the agitated, clearly damaged, bloke straight after one of their spam attacks.  What a psychological mind-fuck that must be to deal with.  It was kind of the most intriguing aspect of the movie.  But it was the wrong moment for blatant nutter prodding and he's usually much more subtle than that. 

[phes]

I saw this today and also felt it was disappointing. Like watching an episode of Essex Police on the Beat or something. You pretty much knew what you were going to get. Focus on minor misdemeanors and lacking any depth around the structural side of how this stuff can be allowed to happen. Understandable as Louis was trying to approach it in a novel way, but it ended up getting very much driven by Rathbun, so most of the insights were into him instead of the church. Some interesting stuff about the ties to hollywood and adverts the church make, but nothing like enough to fill it out.

[marquis_de_sad]

His relationship with Rathbun was the most interesting and — as mentioned in the thread on Louis' Savile doc — Rathbun has now come out and attacked the film.

However I have to agree that it did seem rather underwhelming. I can't help thinking that the whole re-enactment thing was bait, but they only caught small fish. I mean, why was Tom Cruise cast exactly? Louis' explanation for the actor playing him being on set made no sense.

[hewantstolurkatad]

I mean, why was Tom Cruise cast exactly? Louis' explanation for the actor playing him being on set made no sense.

Jesus, I forgot all about this! What in the f*ck was that all about?! I spent the whole reenactment wondering "when's fake Tom Cruise going to come in" but why?


I got the impression there would have been no good time to take on Rathbun in any kind of serious way. He seemed in a tricky situation where Rathbun was the only source of anything at all interesting, but the moment that he'd seriously challenge him on anything that he'd be gone. Louis isn't the right kind of person to deal with a guy like that (unless the goal is to get some footage of him exploding and beating the interviewer) and, honestly, luring him in for an expose on Scientology to twist it around and make it about him would have been pretty dodgy.

[biggytitbo]

It was completely aimless, a bit like his Jackson doc. Did not justify the running time or to be a film. Could he not get an hour on telly with this, which is about as much as it warranted?

[thugler]

I saw this a year ago, and I swear it was a bit longer. I wonder what was cut out. Can't remember if it had something to do with the Cruise actor.

[DukeDeMondo]

The Tom Cruise stuff was perplexing, and that's partly what I meant by chunks of it only making sense if you've seen - or read - the likes of Going Clear.

That shot of the actor playing him falling asleep as they were arranging the "Hole" re-enactment was just baffling. If it served any purpose it went over my head to the extent it was halfway up the arse of the thetans.

It's just not a very good piece of work, even if it is entertaining, in the same way that the Jackson doc Biggie mentioned was entertaining if ultimately pointless.

I'm sort of glad it didn't go for a clichéd Storming The Gates interview confrontation at the end, but that's about the only surprising or novel thing about it.

[marquis_de_sad]

I've seen interviews with Theroux where he says that they wanted to avoid focusing on the upper secret teachings on Scientology because all the other docs seem to revel in it. It's a fair point. But he also said that they for a while were focusing on the Scientology splinter groups who were much more toned down about all that stuff and not at all litigious. In the end, he discovered that when you take that craziness from Scientology it becomes boring. And that's kind of the problem of the film. It has the litigious, harassing craziness, but none of the crazy believes. So it has half of what we've all already seen before.

[hewantstolurkatad]

I wonder how much of the release of this was out of his hands. How long has it been sitting about? Was it funded privately?
He seems to be at a point where he's aware of and struggling to accept his limitations as a documentarian.



It's a bit nuts how much of a lightly positive reception his has been getting https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/my_scientology_movie/
What exactly has he done to warrant so much goodwill? or is it because it's about Scientology?

[DukeDeMondo]

Some of the reviews listed as "Fresh" on RT are pretty lukewarm, though. Bradshaw only gave it three out of five, for example, and although he's not included there, Kermode didn't seem very impressed by it either.

[hewantstolurkatad]

Some of the reviews listed as "Fresh" on RT are pretty lukewarm, though. Bradshaw only gave it three out of five, for example, and although he's not included there, Kermode didn't seem very impressed by it either.

3/5 is fresh though, I just don't see what about this warrants even that. It really is a huge load of nothing.

[Dr Rock]

Does it not seem like this has been promised for a while before being put out without much fanfare in the end. Maybe they realised it didn't amount to much, or couldn't edit what they had into something compelling, and certainly kept coming up short compared to Going Clear. They must hate that came out just before their project. 'Stick it out the week after the Savile one then yeah?' 'Yeah.'

I'm halfway through, and pretty disappointed. Will finish it now.

[Steven]

Theroux spent a couple of hours going over it on Joe Rogan's podcast.

He's just really rubbish at investigative journalism and can only really cover the frivilous stuff like his fish-out-of-water scenario falling-into-a-subject-matter-alongside-the-viewer fare like Weird Weekends, his general feebleness is what enabled him to get people off their guard on-camera like on When Louis Met etc. When tackled with anything more serious he just pulls his pensive face to make sure you know it's serious while he asks glib child-like questions. This is sort of what I was attacking in my risible send-up.

[Repeater]

Where is the torrent

[Repeater]

Also fuck sake Steven don't post any more also don't draw any more

[Sin Agog]

The acknowledged Act of Killing reference confirms something I've thought for awhile now, and that's that Theroux's been swatting up by watching real-deal documentaries by cats like Frederick Wiseman in a bid to get more serious, reheating some of their ideas (Wiseman's Near Death in particular) for himself, when what he really should be doing is embracing his Weird Weekends side.  I know it's a bitter pill to swallow accepting your limits, but slow-motion driving montage w/ voiceover may convince the marks of his gravitas, but they can't be fooling himself.  His recent podcast appearances prove he's a funny fuck with a great sense of timing.  This doc could have been so much better if he went full Weird Weekends, instead of being like a flaky pewter alloy of recent Louis and old Louis, and both of which under-cooked.  Have all those actors put on a play right outside the Scientology compound.  More awkward one-on-one interactions like that Herzogy moment in this where you smirk at the ex-Scientology bigwig in silence until the audience just has to laugh to break the tension.  The kinda breezy light entertainment that just flies by while leaving as much an impression on you as a paving slab underfoot.  That's a viable enough medium.  He just isn't as good when he's trying to be Errol Morris and the like.

By the way, that car following him bit totally reminded me of Jon Ronson's doc on the Bilderbergs.  I have no idea why, if he was that starved for footage, Louis didn't get out of the car and confront the driver.  Their no doubt gormless 'Who? Me?' reaction would probably have made for a good scene.  Also, why did those SeaOrg members even sign releases so their faces could be used on camera?

[Small Man Big Horse]

Where is the torrent

torrent sites

(I can't find a site which doesn't have it, anyway, but it's definitely up on the pirate bay and Rarbg).

[Sin Agog]

Or do the My Scientology Movie + Vodlocker thing on google, as something this fluffy deserves to be streamed more than torrented.

[Steven]

Also fuck sake Steven don't post any more also don't draw any more

I did say it was 'risible'.

At least I know who Madhair's sockpuppet is now!

[thraxx]

This documentary is a mess.  Having sat through the thing I can't help but feel that it has seen some heavy editing on account of lawyers or the producers. 

The film has no sense of what it wants to say and doesn't know if it wants to focus on the recreation (or even why they are taking that approach), the scientologists themselves, or the relationship between Rathbun and Theroux.  It flim flams around between all three things, never getting to grips with any of it.  What a shame.

[Repeater]

What the fuck is Madhair. I'm bald bitch lol
And I'm no sickpuppey. I'm Og. Been here for about a decade

[thecuriousorange]

I assume he was disappointed with the meagre material he managed to get. Should have cut his losses and made a one-hour TV show.

[popcorn]

Agreed with the criticisms in this thread, but I have to say I found some of it, mainly the bits where Louis is just sitting unmoved while people are being very strange to him, extremely funny. He's got a funny face.

[Avril Lavigne]

I'm about half an hour into this and quite enjoying it but also don't really understand the premise. Why is Louis putting lots of time and effort into attempting to recreate existing footage while apparently being able to show the original footage as is?

[Repeater]

Boring and pointless, like the people

[newbridge]

I did enjoy Louis's non-reaction during the insult session or whatever that was called.

The documentary would have been better if it had just been a "When Louis Met... Marty Rathbun" and we learned more about why for example he had been taken in for so many years by this cult.

[marquis_de_sad]

The documentary would have been better if it had just been a "When Louis Met... Marty Rathbun" and we learned more about why for example he had been taken in for so many years by this cult.

Agreed. Rathbun was the most interesting part of the doc. The stuff with the road was really drab in comparison.