It
is a documentary, but it could have played in the Park City at Midnight
section, because it is a little scary at times. Alex Gibney’s Scientology
documentary is pretty much everything you think it is, except it maintains a
considerably higher standard of proof than his silly Eliot Spitzer conspiracy
theory film. In fact, a considerable number of former high-ranking
Scientologists go on-the-record and on-camera to explain how the IRS-designated
church stifles dissent in Going Clear:
Scientology and the Prison of Belief, which screens during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival.
Fortunately,
Gibney had producer and lead talking head Lawrence Wright’s nearly identically
titled book to serve as a blueprint. Although Wright claims he never intended
to write an expose that is essentially what he ended up with once he started
digging. Gibney and Wright chronicle the Scientology creation story, going back
to L. Ron Hubbard’s early years as an incompetent military officer and prolific
science fiction writer, shining a light on his increasingly abusive relationship
with second wife Sara Northrup Hollister. However, the biggest news in Clear may very well be the extent to
which Oscar winning filmmaker Paul Haggis assumes the role of the leading
public critic of his former “religion.”
Those
who have read Wright’s book (or the excerpts that were released at the time of
publication) will be generally familiar with the “alleged” harassment tactics
unleashed against critics, but the totality of Gibney’s presentation is quite
damning. Wright scores one of the film’s best lines marveling at the chutzpah
it takes to launch a “war” against the IRS. Of course, the war is now over.
Scientology won, gaining official tax-exemption and wriggling off the hook for
a potential billion (with a “b”) dollar tax bill.
It
is important to emphasize every allegation in Clear comes from a former member, speaking of what they witnessed firsthand
and directly participated in. Yes, they could all be lying, but their
consistency and Occam’s Razor finds that unlikely. In contrast, no loyalists
agreed to participate in the film, most notably including the best known
celebrity adherents. Frankly, it will probably be Tom Cruise’s reputation that
takes the biggest hit from the film, but Gibney and his assorted experts leave
open the possibility that John Travolta might be something of a victim of various
controlling tactics himself.
