MY SCIENTOLOGY MOVIE (John Dower). 99 minutes. Opens Friday (February 17). See listing. Rating: NNNNN
Does the world need another Scientology expose after Alex Gibneys Going Clear? Louis Theroux finds another way in. All he has to do is announce hes casting actors to play church head David Miscavige in filmed re-enactments and suddenly hes Suppressive Person #1.
Peppered with legal threats and constant, obvious surveillance the standard intimidation whenever Scientology feels threatened Theroux politely refuses to back down, walking up to hovering cameramen and asking whats up in sequences that crackle with nervous energy and genuine risk.
And thats when My Scientology Movie deploys its masterstroke. Borrowing a conceit from The Act Of Killing, Theroux employs former Scientology enforcer Marty Rathbun (who also turned up in Going Clear) to consult on those re-enactments and films his reactions during the shoot.
Seeing Rathbuns psychic scars emerge is far more compelling than any talking head could ever be.
