Scientology maintains its power through secrecy and intimidation, and Theroux gets a view of both when he visits the group’s notorious “Gold Base” in Riverside, California, a sprawling rural enclave that’s surrounded by high walls and a phalanx of security cameras. Theroux serves up TV clips from Scientology rallies of recent years, where Miscavige and the torrents of worship washing over him resemble nothing so much as the cult of the Great Leader in North Korea. SYNOPSIS: Louis documents his investigation into what goes on behind the scenes of the infamous church of scientology… This film has a lot going on in it and I have quite a few thoughts about it. My Scientology Movie, which is directed by John Dower and stars British broadcaster Louis Theroux, tries to be original by using the unconventional narrative arc of having fresh-faced actors recreating first-hand accounts of ex-Scientologists. Scientology is particularly in the public eye right because of an expose documentary series that is making the rounds - Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath ("Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath", 2016). At other times, though, the mock-ups are a blunter device. “After four hours of the same car being behind you,” he notes during a drive through LA, “you start to get suspicious.” Often lingering on the edge of his frame are edgy footsoldiers, awkwardly filming him as his crew films them. Stonewalled by its bug-eyed loyalists, threatened by its lawyers and unable to get close to its leader David Miscavige, Theroux instead chooses to recreate its practices (and, more pertinently, malpractices) using actors he casts in sessions, a little guidance from former Scientologist-turned-whistleblower Marty Rathbun and the odd visit to headquarters. Unlike one of the main inspirations, Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Act Of Killing, Theroux’s gambit is only half successful. ... Louis Theroux’s ‘My Scientology Movie’ is a must-watch. WWE: The Miz - A List Superstar DVD Review 2019. Movie Review: My Scientology Movie Lesley Coffin March 13, 2017. My Scientology Movie review: Louis Theroux turns lack of access into a virtue with funny, sinister results For the current era, Alex Gibney’s authoritatively damning “Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief” is likely to remain the movie about the pseudo-scientific mind control cult that calls itself the “religion” of Scientology. There are some tense and violent moments, including a disturbing scene in which actors who have been hired to portray some of the highest-ranking members of Scientology show what behavior is alleged to take place … This is my review of My Scientology Movie (spoiler free) *** (3/5) MAKING A DOCUMENTARY about such an elusive subject like Scientology will always guarantee the filmmaker a decent sized audience. Louis Theroux plays this setup- and stunt-driven documentary for laughs That’s not to say Theroux doesn’t burrow gently under his subject’s skin. My Scientology Movie, 2016. WWE Getting Rowdy - The Unreleased Matches of Roddy Piper DVD review. With Louis Theroux, Tom Cruise, Marty Rathbun, Paz de la Huerta. The young performers are very game for their task, and some go deep into the dark emotions that Rathbun describes. Instead, he decides to cast actors to do the job for them. Only the good-natured Theroux seems to stand between them and an Anchorman-style camera crew battle. Making a Scientology documentary will always guarantee you an audience, even if it's just a small army of lawyers. Men in Black: International review. goons outside Scientology’s dusty Californian compound about whether he’s on its land illegally. Godfrey Cheshire is a film critic, journalist and filmmaker based in New York City. Louis Theroux versus the Church of Scientology. For example, we hear nothing about recent reports that the Scientology ranks are rapidly aging since the influx of new recruits has slowed dramatically. Louis Theroux's My Scientology Movie has been released in the UK and is soon coming to the US. It’s delicious fun to watch the insane things the church does to try and stop the production of this documentary. Few people are more likely to goad this litigious organisation than a man who’s turned the tables on everyone from white supremacists to Westboro Baptist’s rabid flock just by asking the right questions, listening a lot and being disarmingly goofy. Making a Scientology documentary will always guarantee you an audience. “My Scientology Movie,” which bears a title that projects its farcical nature, is the second attempt to scorch what rational people consider an almost insane cult passing for a religion. Anticipation: 4/5 I was disappointed not to catch My Scientology Movie at the cinema. My Scientology Movie: Louis Theroux documentary unlikely to get Ireland release due to blasphemy laws The film includes the familiar footage of a … Some gloriously surreal moments … Louis Theroux in My Scientology Movie. British provocateur takes a novel approach to investigating Scientology. American viewers familiar with the documentaries of Nick Broomfield may find those provide an apt point of comparison for “My Scientology Movie,” although Broomfield is an actual documentary filmmaker while Theroux (son of writer Paul) is the species of TV personality that Brits call a “presenter.” He has a weekend show on the BBC, that is, and when he arrives in Los Angeles to launch his own investigation into Scientology, the film’s tone suggests that it is aimed at viewers already familiar with his low-key comic persona. Black Bridge review . Oppenheimer’s film has real people recreating their own shocking acts of genocide; here Theroux’s actors make willing surrogates, but they’re no substitute for access to the organisation itself. Needless to say, our intrepid reporter doesn’t make it inside, but he gets to film Scientologists’ cameras filming him as its security people come out and demand that he leaves. My Scientology Movie review – Louis Theroux gets smart with the cult church. How close can a filmmaker get to Scientology? But while the BBC’s mild-mannered assassin brings all his weapons to bear here — awkward silences, innocent but insistent probing, vast reserves of likeability — he somewhat meets his match with Scientology. WWE Royal Rumble 2020 Blu-ray review. Parents need to know that My Scientology Movie is a 2015 documentary in which broadcast journalist Louis Theroux attempts to find a way into the inner workings of Scientology. For the current era, Alex Gibney’s authoritatively damning “Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief” is likely to remain the movie about the pseudo-scientific mind control cult that calls itself the “religion” of Scientology. 710067). This is my review of Louis Theroux’s new documentary, called My Scientology Movie. Their efforts to intimidate are dulled by the fact that they all look well past 60—a sign, perhaps, that the cult may not last much past Miscavige’s passing, if that long. Read full review Jon Dower and Louis Theroux test that in My Scientology Movie (Dower, 2015). “You’re not trespassing.” It’s the film in microcosm: funny, occasionally menacing, but ultimately stranded just outside the inner sanctum. Alex Gibney estimates 160 legal eagles watched last year’s Going Clear before its release, and it’s hard to imagine Louis Theroux’s addition to L Ron Hubbard’s DVD cupboard wasn’t given a similarly fine-toothed treatment. My Scientology Movie review – amusing but lightweight 3 / 5 stars 3 out of 5 stars. My Scientology Movie is the second documentary on the subject in recent months, following Alex Gibney’s more thorough and methodical Going … For years, Theroux confesses, he had hoped to make a film that would discover a more positive side to Scientology than the countless negative images projected in the media. He has written for The New York Times, Variety, Film Comment, The Village Voice, Interview, Cineaste and other publications. Time Out says. Godfrey Cheshire is a film critic, journalist and filmmaker based in New York City. Photograph: Flat … VAT no 918 5617 01, Bauer Consumer Media Ltd are authorised and regulated by the FCA(Ref No. Watched Oct 10, 2016. My Scientology Movie seeks more to understand Scientology, its inner workings, and what its members are searching for than it does to “catch” Scientology out. Gibney’s documentary–an adaptation of Lawrence Wright’s book of the same name–is a top-to-bottom takedown of the entire Church of Scientology, looking at the group’s origins via … I n My Scientology Movie, it doesn’t take long for documentarian Louis Theroux to get rattled by fears of harassment and surveillance by agents of the Church of Scientology.During an interview with former Scientology enforcer Marty Rathbun, a woman in a bikini saunters up to them to ask what they’re doing. The personal pronoun in the title of “My Scientology Movie” makes sense in more ways than one. This Louis Theroux-starring film belongs to the Michael Moore school of docu-making, in which much hinges on the personal viewpoint and observational wit of the on-camera investigator. My Scientology Movie 2015 ★★★½ . 3 out of 5 stars. For Americans previously unfamiliar with Theroux, however, this presents at most only a temporary barrier, because his unassuming humor quickly establishes him as a narrator worth listening to. He has written for, Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, The TV Homages of WandaVision are an Amusing, Unfulfilling Distraction, On the Disempowerment of Promising Young Woman, Entertaining 30 Coins Examines Depths of Evil with Style. But this involves an hierarchical organizational structure and an elaborate, multi-year process that can cost members hundreds of thousands of dollars. The treatment of ‘Suppressive Persons’ — Scientology’s supposed apostates — is tackled with terrifying gusto by the actor playing Miscavige. It could even be read as a dryly self-deprecating acknowledgment — as befits writer-presenter Lo… The best scenes lay bare the paranoia and insecurity that seeps from the organisation. ... “My Scientology Movie” relies on a shaggy, meandering charm. My Scientology Movie SUMMARY Without the highlights of the reactions to the reconstructions, the rest of the film is fairly ‘so-so’, tabloid-style baiting - as … Louis Theroux presents an entertaining but rather light doc on the infamous Church. For much of the movie, Theroux drives a rent-a-car around Los Angeles and its environs, looking at Scientology locations and talking to people who have escaped the cult’s grip about its byzantine doctrines and practices. Remember to visit and follow for more awesome reviews: WatchThatTV Louis Theroux, a true British national treasure, adopts a unique method in his first feature film to document the relatively unknown world of the Church of Scientology. The two eventually chosen to embody the Great Leader and his Movie-star Acolyte (whose way of staring is carefully examined) are eerily good at playing men who sometimes seem not altogether human. Louis Theroux documents his investigation into what goes on behind the scenes of the infamous Church of Scientology. While "My Scientology Movie" provides a very entertaining tour of some of the questions that swirl around Scientology, viewers who’ve followed the story through the years will find little that’s new or unexpected. It ends with them slinking off. My Scientology Movie Director: John Dower Rating: NR Release Date: March 10, 2017. Review by Graham Williamson. My Scientology Movie BBC filmmaker Louis Theroux sets out to make a documentary about Scientology, but is soon stymied by its leaders’ refusal to participate. The personal pronoun in the title of “My Scientology Movie” makes sense in more ways than one. A number of interesting issues are touched on not at all or only tangentially. My Scientology Movie. My Scientology Movie. Early on, he sketches in the cult’s well-known history, from being founded by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard in the ‘50s to how, after Hubbard’s death, control of the organization passed to an impeccably tailored but consummately creepy little authoritarian named David Miscavige. BBC filmmaker Louis Theroux sets out to make a documentary about Scientology, but is soon stymied by its leaders’ refusal to participate. At times it plays like an extended skit on “The Daily Show”; yet its disorder also makes its insights — like how strongly the church’s training sessions resemble acting classes — feel refreshingly organic. It’s becomes very meta as we get interviews with the actors who are cast to be important figures in the Church of Scientology for the re-enactments. Where they do pay off is in a recreation of the infamous Hole, a prison for senior Scientologists (or Sea Orgs) where the most extreme abuse is alleged to have taken place. My Scientology Movie is a 2015 British documentary film about Scientology directed by John Dower, and written by and starring Louis Theroux.The film takes an unconventional approach to the subject matter, featuring young actors "auditioning" for parts playing high-profile Scientologists in scenes recreating accounts from ex-members about incidents involving senior church management. Yet we get a hint of this late in the film where a small posse of members show up at the soundstage where Theroux is shooting. ‘My Scientology Movie’ Review: Cult, Film 'My Scientology Movie' Movie Rating: 3.5. This review was written by WatchThatTV. For instance maybe a small army of lawyers. Review: ‘My Scientology Movie,’ an Offbeat Inquiry. Read All Reviews. Scientology is a complex subject that takes quite a bit of work to understand. Directed by John Dower. It’s clearly one role you wouldn’t want to go Method for. Of course, this is an easy contrivance on the director's part: Theroux and company know they’ll be turned away in this manner, as have many before them. The very title “My Scientology Movie” suggests a juvenile goof-off on a serious subject. Except that Kim Jong Un doesn’t have Tom Cruise bounding on stage to lend his support to the idolatrous acclamation that Scientology’s leader commands. Theroux’s first big-screen doc is an entertaining affair, peppered with surreal moments and wry wit, but its elusive subject remains out of reach. Because the Scientologists react so reflexively and predictably—as they do in threatening emails to Theroux—it makes you wonder if they’ve learned nothing in decades of dealing with media that have long ago figured out how to bait them. “You don’t have to go,” Theroux shouts after them. Rathbun also participates in the film’s most productive contrivance, when Theroux sets up auditions for actors to play the parts of Miscavige and Cruise in a fictionalized probe into the Scientology story. Film, Documentaries. The actors sit awkwardly while Rathbun explains the organisation’s doctrines, and there’s little in his explanation of its world view, tools of manipulation and intimidation strategies that hasn’t already been covered in Going Clear and Panorama’s explosive 2007 documentary Scientology And Me. Perhaps my perception is clouded by havingvalready watched the HBO documentary "Going Clear," which, to me, was the ultimate take-down of the Church of Scientology. I have been a long-time admirer of Louis Theroux’s documentaries. It leads to the film’s most impactful scene, a depiction of bullying and the abuse of power that’s shocking even on a film set. 0 Shares 0 0 0 0. I frequently revisit his earlier Weird Weekend series just because each time I watch the peculiar world Louis navigates, I find myself met with a renewed sense of astonishment.… Among the Scientology apostates that Theroux interviews, some of the most vivid testimony comes from former Scientology Quartermaster General Marty Rathbun, who describes Miscavige’s hysterical rants and violence against his underlings. Scientologists profess to believe that humans are ancient cosmic souls who must reincarnate endlessly until they free themselves from negative thought patterns. Needless to say, this film (directed by John Dower) doesn’t end up being the first flattering documentary about Scientology made by an outsider—not that Theroux, of course, probably ever thought it would. Louis Theroux versus the Church of Scientology. News Politics World Sport Technology Business Money Opinion Obituaries Travel Culture Lifestyle Women Family Health and Fitness Fashion Luxury Cars Free Mobile App UK Voucher Codes US Coupons Jobs Financial Solutions Rewards Events Bauer Media Group consists of: Bauer Consumer Media Ltd, Company number: 01176085, Bauer Radio Ltd, Company Number: 1394141, Registered Office: Media House, Peterborough Business Park, Lynch Wood, Peterborough, PE2 6EA H Bauer Publishing,Company Number: LP003328, Registered Office: Academic House, 24-28 Oval Road, London, NW1 7DT.All registered in England and Wales. My Scientology Movie is a hilarious, if at times provocative, documentary. My Scientology Movie is full of such meta moments, including a long argument with. Directed by John Dower. The effort to do that is behind the group’s use of “E-meters,” which supposedly help members release the debilitating thought forms. My Scientology Movie is free-spirited enough, though, to retain an encounter with a bikini-clad wannabe actress which took place during filming and doesn’t really leaad anywhere, except to laughter. And similar things occur in other circumstances, most comically when they’re filmed twice by a cameraman who claims to be just a freelance shooter-for-hire but won’t identify his employer. He’s also one with a clearly stated goal that sets us up for the droll chagrin that follows. 3 out of 5 stars. DVD WWE Smackdown 20th Anniversary DVD review. "My Scientology Movie" very much lived up to its title in being a somewhat self-indulgent and directionless peek into the Church. My Scientology Movie relies on a shaggy, meandering charm. A small army of lawyers, in the first instance. There is no denying that Scientology’s mysterious influence … Shouts after them i have quite a bit of work to understand mock-ups are a blunter device to believe humans! 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