Louis Theroux’s much anticipated ‘My Scientology Movie’ is a fascinating and often thrilling watch, a slow burn of a documentary that merely scratches the surface of a secretive and often cult-like religion.
While the film doesn’t stray too far from a usual Theroux television episode, the addition of employed actors to play out various scenarios as told by former Senior Scientologist Marty Rathburn is a welcomed addition.
Of course, the classic Louis Theroux interviewing style is present throughout – probing, void of confrontation, well-mannered, subtle. And it’s often his reaction to the bizarre happenings around him that make this movie surprisingly humorous throughout.
The laugh out loud moments between the awkward and strange really free up the documentary and make it enjoyable for what ends up feeling like a slightly short running time.
That is perhaps because there is a lack of conclusion, the film seeming to build to something far greater – a conversation with one of Scientology’s active members or something akin.
Unsettling, baffling and often uncomfortable to watch, ‘My Scientology Movie’ is an entertaining look into a mysterious lifestyle but does nothing to offer any more insight into the religion than has already come before.
7/10
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