Review: Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (2015) · 4:25am Jan 28th, 2016
Director Alex Gibney crafts a fascinating, arresting, and deeply sobering examination and unveiling of the inner workings of the mysterious world of the Church of Scientology, in this fantastic example of documentary film making.
Narrating the film with a quiet, understated sense of dignity, Gibney steadily unravels the complex history of the cult, from it's founding in the eccentric and paranoid mind of L. Ron Hubbard, to it's rapid expansion and coalescence into the supreme cult of personality indoctrination of David Miscavige. Interviewing many former Scientologist ranging as far as Academy Award winning filmmaker Paul Haggis to former PR manager Mike Rinder, Gibney weaves the story expertly, and in doing so, paints nuanced portraits of both his subjects, and of the mysterious figures of Miscavige and Hubbard.
Absolutely fascinating is also the open brainwashing that subjects of the cult undergo via "auditing", where the subject is asked to recall increasingly distant traumatic experiences, some in past lives, in order to supposedly free themselves from pain. Instead, it quickly becomes apparent that this is simply another method of fanatical control and domination by the cult, by breaking down the self esteem of it's members, and continually forcing them to chase an unattainable goal. Alongside this is "The Hole", which functions as an apparent prison camp, where people who've begun to question the beliefs of the cult are taken and subjected to horrific living conditions, and psychological torture and physical abuse, breaking them down to brainwashed, traumatized shells of their former selves.
Gibney also details the stories of famed Scientologists Tom Cruise and John Travolta, and one gets the feeling that these two are completely trapped within the mind controlling brainwashing that the cult has propagated, and are being exploited and manipulated. It makes one feel intensely sorry, yet frightened for them, and yet makes it abundantly clear that it's their responsibility to react to the practices of the cult, or turn a blind eye to them.
So, in the end, the film is a fascinatingly in depth, sobering, and at times frightening look into the mysterious world of Scientology, and comes highly recommended.
5 out of 5 stars
I'm surprised anybody got anything out about Scientology. They've got the money to keep so many people quit and out of court, dragging everything out as long as possible so people literally can't afford to keep opposing them.
3719801 Well, it helps to be an Academy Award winning documentary film maker, and to have HBO backing you up, who literally doesn't give a single damn about what Scientology things.
They did try to sue when it was released theatrically, but the film was released anyways.