Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief
Home Box Office (HBO) | Release Date: March 13, 2015 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
80
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Critic Reviews
Positive:
10
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Entertainment WeeklyMelissa MaerzMar 13, 2015
If Going Clear were a Hollywood thriller, I’d complain that it’s too over-the-top. But this is real life, which is hard to believe. And it’s disturbingly good. Read full review
90
The Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinFeb 2, 2015
This impeccably assembled and argued film represents a brave, timely intervention into debates around the organization that have been simmering for some time. Read full review
90
VarietyScott FoundasFeb 2, 2015
For Scientologists, going clear refers to a coveted status awarded to those who have completed a certain level of auditing. But for the men and women on screen here, it means something else: reclaiming their own voices and demanding to be heard. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoMar 13, 2015
Gibney crams as much material as possible into a quick two hours (he really knows how to edit and pace a piece like this one as it feels much shorter) and yet, to be fair, there’s still an angle missing just by virtue of the fact that he couldn’t get anyone from the Church of Scientology today on camera. Read full review
83
IndieWireEric KohnFeb 2, 2015
Going Clear delivers an efficient overview of Scientology's dark history with a cohesive focus on the precision of its corrupt motives. Read full review
83
The PlaylistKatie WalshFeb 2, 2015
Ultimately, Gibney's film is fascinating for the people in it. The filmmaking is nothing exceptional, but what is remarkable is the bravery shown by those who speak out in the film. Read full review
80
Time OutJoshua RothkopfMar 16, 2015
For a group with property assets in the billions, it’s a major piece of the puzzle, revealing a critical failing: For a religion with so much to give, why do they do so little for so few? Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriFeb 2, 2015
Gibney’s a bit like a kid in an exposé-candy store here, and you can sense him trying to cram as much as he can into the film. Good for him: Going Clear is jaw-dropping. You wouldn’t really want it any other way. Read full review
70
Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlMar 10, 2015
Augmenting his talking heads with animation and inspired stock footage, Gibney dignifies Hubbard with the capacity to conjure feelings of connection and magnificence, never losing sight of what brings people into the fold, which makes their attempts to escape it all the more harrowing. Still, the richness of detail of Wright's book is lost. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleSteve DavisSep 23, 2015
In video segments scarier than any couch-jumping antics on a talk show, actor Tom Cruise salutes the organization’s Napoleonic chairman David Miscavige like a soldier in an army of darkness, and rambles on about a world free of suppressive persons like he’s auditioning for the loony bin. One thing is clear in Going Clear: The man has taken one super-big gulp of the Kool-Aid. Read full review
60
The New York TimesManohla DargisMar 12, 2015
Mr. Gibney, who enters swinging and keeps on swinging, comes across as less interested in understanding Scientology than in exposing its secrets, which makes for a lively and watchable documentary if not an especially enlightening one. Read full review
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