Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
After being denied access to the Church of Scientology's headquarters, documentarian Louis Theroux teams up with ex-Scientology official Marty Rathbun to stage re-enactments of alleged abuses within the organization. Theroux soon discovers that the church is watching his every move.
Louis Theroux's unconventional approach—using dramatic re-enactments with aspiring actors to circumvent Scientology's secrecy—gives the film a genuinely distinctive voice and methodology rarely seen in investigative documentary. The novelty of that conceit is real and memorable. However, the film's structure is somewhat meandering, and the re-enactment device, while novel, yields uneven results in terms of dramatic payoff. The 'acting' from the recruited performers is variable at best, and Marty Rathbun's increasing uncooperativeness gives the ending an unresolved, anticlimactic quality. Cinematography is functional but unremarkable, fitting the guerrilla/observational style without particular artistry.