Whatever the common knowledge or conjecture that might exist about Scientology, this film is interesting and amusing but probably adds little. It alleges that Scientologists set out to ruin those who oppose them, that members pay a lot of money, that it is a form of cult brainwashing and that it uses intimidation to control people. The film would have made a stronger case if it took a more forensic rather than anecdotal approach. A lot of what it shows resembles the kind of bullying that people can witness in everyday life without venturing very far. Some of it is like those neighbourhood disputes that you see in infotainment news; it is funny in a low brow way. The film's star witness, a former leader in the Scientology organisation, is guarded in what he divulges; his emotional reactions are the most interesting part. A young man who had been more of a foot soldier gives a pragmatic account. You are also shown pictures of the Scientology buildings, including some vast, gothic real estate, and of glittering events that look like a cross between a political convention and a Hollywood awards ceremony. The training practices that are alleged are like something out of the 1950s, and there is a lot that sounds like unsophisticated science fiction. You see old videos of Tom Cruise - perhaps the main drawcard for audiences wanting celeb gossip. But the film suffers from superficiality, and a little too much theatre and self-referencing to be a cutting documentary. That might mean that Scientology has the power to keep its secrets; and/or that the film was not courageous enough. You could view the whole thing as a sorry tale of how our wealthy society wastes its bounty on arguments like these. Perhaps more worrying is the question of whether a belief in a master race with a supreme leader, whatever its label, which thinks that it's their way or the highway, could still get a foothold after all of the harsh lessons of modern history.