Fresh
Gibney ... has a gift for showing the workings of complex social systems, and he lays things out clearly and in a well-aced fashion ...
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief
2015 · 2h · Not Rated
Documentary
Directed by
Alex Gibney
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Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief
Overview
The film profiles eight former members of the Church of Scientology, shining a light on how they attract true believers and the things they do in the name of religion.
Director and cast
- Alex Gibney Director
- Paul Haggis as Self - Interviewee
- Jason Beghe as Self - Interviewee
- Alex Gibney as Narrator (voice)
- Lawrence Wright as Self - Interviewee
- Sherry Stringfield as Sara Northrup (voice)
- Katie Holmes as Self (archive footage)
- Nancy Cartwright as Self (archive footage)
- Kirstie Alley as Self (archive footage)
- Karen Black as Self (archive footage)
- Jenna Elfman as Self (archive footage)
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
95%
Tomatometer
Fresh
While he doesn't really uncover much that's new in "Going Clear," the way he's collected and assembled testimonials, documents and archival footage creates a cumulative effect that's chilling.
Christy Lemire, ChristyLemire.com
Fresh
Whether you come away seeing Scientology as a cult that ensnares vulnerable people or as a faith of self-empowerment, the film leaves a terrible taste of too much information. This must be its point, but take heed just the same.
Nancy DeWolf Smith, Wall Street Journal
Fresh
There is order and selection, of course - to say that this is storytelling is not to impugn its parts - but much of what he has to show you is remarkable in or out of this context.
Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times
Fresh
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief... is at times jaw-dropping, scary, unnerving, even disturbingly funny.
David Wiegand, San Francisco Chronicle
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