25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Evening Standard
Louis Theroux's best documentaries, from Behind Bars to Extreme Love
The Church of Scientology, the religious movement founded in Los Angeles in the Fifties, has picked up a bad rap, being described by some outsiders and ex-members as a cult and a pseudoreligion. And in My Scientology Movie, Theroux does his best to investigate the secretive organisation, but even he fails to get a proper look inside. Although the film involves dozens of metaphorical – and literal – doors being slammed in Theroux's face, and The Church of Scientology never cooperates with Theroux, the documentary nevertheless manages to paint an illuminating picture of the religion: he speaks to ex-members about their experiences in the church, and Theroux and his team actually start to be surveilled while they're making the film.
