The defence The Auteur Devotee
“Ambition earns the room.”
The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.
Back to trending 
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief
Documentary · 2015
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.
Movie details
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief
2015 Documentary 2h 0m
Critical arithmetic
The consensus, allegedly.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
IMDb
8.0 / 10
42.1K votes
Rotten Tomatoes
95 %
Tomatometer
Metacritic
80 / 100
Metascore
TMDB
7.6 / 10
Community rating
External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.
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.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief?
For the defence
The Auteur Devotee
“You watch the director, not the movie.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Alex Gibney
Written by
Alex Gibney
Paul Haggis
Self - Interviewee
Jason Beghe
Self - Interviewee
Alex Gibney
Narrator (voice)
Lawrence Wright
Self - Interviewee
Sherry Stringfield
Sara Northrup (voice)
Katie Holmes
Self (archive footage)
Nancy Cartwright
Self (archive footage)
Court is in session
Put Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Importance has entered the chat.”
The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.