Documentary corner: Going Clear

Scientology is not exactly the rarest documentary topic. Countless attempts have been made in the past to expose various aspects of this ‘Church’ in the past – discussing its history or telling the stories of those who have left its ranks. Perhaps the most famous documentary prior to the release of Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief was the BBC Panorama’s Scientology and Me. You’ve probably seen the clip from this programme wherein the host, John Sweeney, explodes at church member Tommy Davis, who managed to finally get under his skin following months of harassment. This is, unfortunately, the usual way these documentaries go: any journalist who has ever tried to independently combat and expose Scientology is quickly met with stalking, harassment, and lawsuits – some Scientology members have even gone so far as to plant child pornography on reporters’ computers. Where the HBO special Going Clear stands out – other than the incredible level of detail it goes into – is that it’s quite hands-off. The presenter, Alex Gibney, gives us his message almost exclusively through the voices of (very) high-ranking ex-members of the church, such as Mike Rinder. I think the backing of the behemoth that is HBO had some part to play in the fearlessness with which this documentary tackles its subject. Ultimately, Going Clear really does serve as the only scientology documentary you’d need to watch to get a full understanding of the movement.

Almost nothing is left out here: we learn about Scientology’s history, get a suitably in-depth exploration of the mind of founder L. Ron Hubbard, a revealing of its shady underbelly, and even a study of the two celebrity stars of the show, John Travolta and Tom Cruise. A focus on these two celebrities may sound somewhat pointless at first, but throughout the course of the film one does begin to understand the monumental impact they had on popularising the church. Tom Cruise in particular comes across as an egotistical, Patrick Bateman-esque character – he is very chummy with the current leader David Miscavige, a Machiavellian figure who seems to be focused on massaging Cruise’s ego in order to keep him brainwashed and dedicated. Based on the archive footage, it’s possible to draw a lot of parallels between Cruise and Kim Jong-un: both appear to be man-children surrounded by insincere admirers, convinced of their own self-importance. For other celebrities involved in the movement, one almost gets the idea that they are trapped, possibly blackmailed using the information from their confessional ‘auditing’ sessions. Overall, Going Clear is the most comprehensive and masterful exploration of this topic I have ever seen. Will its oddly specific ranking as my ‘favourite scientology documentary’ be toppled by Louis Theroux’s upcoming documentary, released later this year? We’ll just have to see.