Entertainment
  1. Home
  2. Entertainment
  3. Movies
Save
Print
License article

Review: Louis Theroux's Scientology movie isn't one of his best

Up Next

Trailer: The Star

null
Video duration
02:08

More Trailers Videos

null
Video duration
02:08

Trailer: The Star
null
Video duration
01:08

Teaser: 'Wonderland' at ACMI
null
Video duration
04:37

Clip: It's Just a Choice
null
Video duration
02:11

Trailer: Tulip Fever
null
Video duration
02:15

Trailer: The Teacher
null
Video duration
01:28

Trailer: Goodbye Christopher Robin
More videos

Trailer: Louis Theroux: My Scientology Movie

Louis Theroux won't take no for an answer when his request to enter the Church of Scientology's Los Angeles headquarters is turned down.

★★

Spectacled, unsexy, a bit pedantic, Louis Theroux incarnates the stereotype of the Englishman Abroad, like a modern version of the kind of character who used to turn up in novels by Evelyn Waugh. Of course, the real Theroux is stronger-willed and less easily embarrassed than his TV persona: in his BBC documentaries he's able to immerse himself in various outre subcultures, from porn to white supremacy, without budging from his commitment to British common sense.

Depending on the subject-matter, his mild yet dogged approach can yield some interesting results. But this big-screen documentary on Scientology — directed by John Dower, not one of Theroux's regular collaborators — is far from his finest hour. The immediate problem is that none of the current big cheeses in the movement are prepared to give Theroux the time of day. That leaves him relying on ex-believers with axes to grind, in particular former chief executive Mark Rathbun, a burly guy in his late fifties who you wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of.

Driving round LA, Theroux lends a willing ear to Rathbun's tales of Scientology's toxic inner circle, with Rathbun himself emerging as a bully second only to church leader David Miscavige. It's hard not to be fascinated by the sheer weirdness of what seems closer to a deranged scheme than a religion in the conventional sense. But much of this material has been canvassed elsewhere — notably in Alex Gibney's recent documentary Going Clear — and major revelations are few.

Other scenes involve the staging of re-enactments of Rathbun's stories: various actors audition for the role of Miscavige, with Rathbun passing judgement on their resemblance to the real thing. This device is lifted from Joshua Oppenheimer's widely admired The Act of Killing, where those involved in Indonesia's anti-Communist purges were called on to re-enact their crimes. But the stakes here are considerably lower, and Dower and Theroux can't hope to match the disturbing power of their model.

The rest is padding, including the expected scenes where irate officials order the crew to stop filming and Theroux fights back with his usual earnest pretence of good faith. A special shout-out to American actor Paz de la Huerta (Boardwalk Empire) who shows up unexpectedly near Rathbun's pool, leading Theroux to ponder whether she might be the bait in a "honey trap". Whatever the truth of this, it's good to see her keeping busy during lulls in her acting career.