Going Clear: Scientology And The Prison of Belief

Synopsis:  A look at the history and operations of the Church of Scientology and its founder, L. Ron Hubbard, through the eyes of eight former members of this controversial organisation, the congregation of which includes  A-list Hollywood celebrities like Tom Cruise and John Travolta. It examines the Church’s battles with the Internal Revenue Service over its taxation status and reveals how it cultivates true believers, detailing their experiences, what they are willing to do in the name of their religion and the consequences of speaking out against it.

‘Why is Tom Cruise spending a thousand dollars to have invisible aliens pulled out of his body?’ No, this isn’t the logline for the latest Cruise SciFi Action Thriller; it’s a legitimate question that gets asked towards the end of this beautifully made and quite fascinating documentary from the Oscar winning director of Taxi to the Dark Side (2007), Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (2008) and Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005).

In his latest film, Gibney shifts his focus from Enron to L. Ron, Hubbard, that is (sorry, I couldn’t resist!)  and is ably assisted by narrator Lawrence Wright upon whose book the keenly crafted screenplay is based. But the real stars of the film are former high ranking officials and members of the congregation from within the so-called church who, for various reasons, have left or been forced out and are now willing to tell their story, more with shame and regret it must be said, than with vitriol or retribution. They include outstanding screenwriter and film director, Paul Haggis who became a Scientologist in 1975 and didn’t resign until 2009. It’s one thing to snigger about the likes of Cruise and Travolta being sucked into the cockamamie beliefs of  LRH (as they all call the founder) but Haggis seems a smart, intelligent and savvy guy (judging from the films he makes) and the idea of him taking Scientology seriously is hard to fathom. This, of course, makes his contribution to the film all the more compelling.

Of course, Scientology is one of those things that many of us disparage without knowing the full picture.  Here we get to meet Hubbard at various points of his adventurous life from his highly exaggerated military career to his highly successful career as a writer of more than 250 science fiction novels, the plots of which came to be reflected in the religious tenets of Scientology. Gibney brings to us a Hubbard that is not the embodiment of evil or even a scam artist trying to fleece his gullible followers. He shows him as a true believer of his own strange philosophy, genuine in his mission to make the world a better place and, quite possibly, mad.  (Hubbard’s life has previously been plundered for Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2012 movie, The Master, but what Gibney reveals is way more weird than the fiction)  The real darkness behind Scientology begins to emerge after Hubbard’s death when David Miscavige rises through the ranks as the successor to the religious empire and the zealot who beat down the IRS (some might call it blackmail) in order to gain tax deductibility status. The footage of Miscavige and Tom Cruise together on a stage that might have been designed by Albert Speer is chilling in the way they whip their obsequious followers into a frenzy of devotion and financial largesse.

Gibney’s excellently researched and stylish film charts the course of Scientology from its seemingly innocuous post-war beginnings through its progressively disturbing growth into an organisation that is truly frightening in both its global power and its suppression of the individual. And as for those invisible aliens?  If you follow Hubbard’s teachings and progress through the church hierarchy you eventually become privy to the mystery that lies at the heart of his philosophy...  that we are all riddled with the souls of aliens who were brought to earth 75 million years ago and executed with hydrogen bombs. It’s those invisible souls that cause all human harm and their removal is the mission of the Church of Scientology.  

 

 

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