Synopsis

Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (2015)

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Going Clear is based closely on Lawrence Wright’s book, covering much of the same ground with the aid of archive footage, dramatic reconstructions, and interviews with eight former Scientologists: Paul Haggis, the Oscar-winning director; Mark Rathbun, the church’s former second-in-command; Mike Rinder, the former head of the church’s Office of Special Affairs; the actor Jason Beghe; Sylvia ‘Spanky’ Taylor, former liaison to John Travolta; and former Scientologists Tom DeVocht, Sara Goldberg, and Hana Eltringham Whitfield.

The film breaks into three distinct acts. In the first, the former Scientologists describe how they joined Scientology; the second act recounts the history of Scientology and its founder L. Ron Hubbard; and in the final act, the film airs allegations of the abuse of church members and misconduct by its leadership, particularly David Miscavige, who is accused of intimidating, beating, imprisoning, and exploiting subordinates. The film depicts the role played by celebrity members, such as John Travolta and Tom Cruise, through video clips contrasting their statements with the experiences of former Scientologists.

To support its thesis, the film utilises footage of ex-Scientologists harassed and surveilled (per Hubbard’s dictum that the church’s critics were all criminals whose crimes needed to be exposed), and describes the imprisonment of senior Scientology executives in a facility known as “The Hole”; one Scientologist was said to have been forced to clean a bathroom with his tongue. According to the film, the actress Nicole Kidman was targeted for wiretapping by Scientology in an effort to break her marriage to Tom Cruise after she was labeled a “potential trouble source” by the church; whereas John Travolta has been forced to stay in the church in fear that secrets from his personal life will be exposed.