My Scientology Movie (2016)
Following a long fascination with the religion and with much experience in dealing with eccentric, unpalatable and unexpected human behavior, the beguilingly unassuming Theroux won't take no for an answer when his request to enter the Church's headquarters is turned down. Inspired by the Church's use of filming techniques, and aided by ex-members of the organization, Theroux uses actors to replay some incidents people claim they experienced as members in an attempt to better understand the way it operates. In a bizarre twist, it becomes clear that the Church is also making a film about Louis Theroux.
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Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!
One of the best films i have seen
A Disappointing Continuation
The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.
Interesting in parts. Humorous in parts. Why we needed to see wannabe actors auditioning for scenes that don't end up featuring in the film? No idea. If it was meant as a substitute for material that they knew they wouldn't get, then it I'm afraid it failed.They had so little access, unsurprisingly, that it didn't really teach us anything we didn't already know. The 'squirreling' isn't a revelation, I think most of us have seen film of middle aged saddos trying to wind leavers up. Some of the old footage was interesting but Louis didn't add to that library. The film did succeed in showing Marty's colours, this former Church 'muscle' objected to being reminded of his hypocrisy by Louis after the Church made veiled threats, who knows what he actually did. Felt Louis ducked that one though, afraid of losing his best subject. In fact, the whole thing lacked daring.Ultimately, not very satisfying. Might be a good for somebody who has lived under a rock and doesn't know anything about the Cult and their crazy folk.
We humans are amazing creatures. Most of the time I find myself, standing in awe by foolishness of my species. I have my own idiot moments and most of the time i just embrace what i had done, any way, this docu-something showed me there are far more meat brains out there. There's a guy, from start to end, an ex, über-somebody of scientology in the past, man, such an idiot. He spent twenty plus years of his life with shitentology, abused other idiots who pay to be abused, had the sweet taste of power and authority for several years.And now, he's out, and acting like he's the commander of some kind of sh*t storm. Telling people what to ask, what to feel etc. At some point he basically took a dump on to the main guy, he barely had nothing to say in return.We humans are lone creatures deep inside, they choose to pay for that abusive, idiotic and undoubtedly wrong corporation, so let them be. Don't judge or try to help. Just watch them slipping in their own feces.So, i just had motivation to watch what those wackology guys does with this documentary kind of thing but at the end its just people confronting each other close range to call each other squirrel!What a bummer!!This production is first class "DON'T WASTE YOUR PRECIOUS TIME" material. Gives no new information about idiotogly dudes, no ending, filled with boring and low quality re-enactments. And also an idiot as starring. That dude, idiot shitentology old admiral, swear he'll pull the plug off the corp., I wonder what he would did or at first place what can he do? I really want to have future information about his actions, because you know there is nothing more fun then watching humans meaninless movements.
Exposing Scientology has become something of a genre unto itself, and this doesn't really break any new ground. There are the usual stories of coercion, confrontations and creepy interactions we've come to expect from Scientologists. If you've seen Going Clear, the Leah Remini series, or even the South Park episode, you won't learn anything you didn't know.Still, he manages to keep it interesting. The most unique thing he does is hire actors to play out various scenes, with guidance from former Scientologists - mostly Mark Rathbun, the former "Inspector General of the Religious Technology Center". Particular emphasis is given to correctly capturing the explosive temper of David Miscavige.The biggest weakness in the movie is that Mark Rathbun is kind of an annoying guy. Whereas most former Scientologists are contrite about their own behavior in the cult, he really doesn't take ownership of his past at all. He continuously complains about the abusive tactics the Church uses against him and his family, but whenever Theroux politely points out that he certainly did similar things in the past, he goes into a snit. Weirdly, one of the things that seems to bother him the most is that the Church doesn't acknowledge what a "big shot" he was.Not a bad way to pass a couple hours, but not likely to be remembered for long.
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.