Inside 'You Can See Everything,' Nathan Fielder's Wild Elizabeth Holmes Doc
"You Can See Everything," the buzzy new documentary about Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, is one of the most talked-about movies of the fall, and its unusual blend of real footage and recreated scenes has viewers asking what is real and what is not.
The A24 film, directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, follows Holmes during her final 34 days before she reported to prison. It hit theaters on Oct. 16 after being kept almost completely secret for about three years.
What the Film Is About
In 2023, Holmes invited Fielder to her rented beach house in Del Mar, California, so she could tell her side of the story before starting her prison sentence, WBUR reported. The filmmakers essentially moved in with her for those final weeks.
The film opens with Holmes caring for her two young children, including a newborn, while taking tense video calls with her lawyers about prison logistics, according to Mother Jones. Throughout, she insists she did nothing wrong. She cries on camera several times, something she tells Fielder she has always found hard to do in front of others.
Her partner, Billy Evans, is also a major presence. At one point, the couple pitches a kind of Theranos 2.0, "this time with lasers." In another strange moment, Fielder plays her the classic Abbott and Costello "Who's on First?" routine, and she stares at it blankly, saying she has never heard of it.
The nearly three-hour film changes about an hour and a half in, when Holmes reports to prison. From there, it turns into what WBUR called a "hall of mirrors and reenactments," revisiting earlier footage from new angles and using recreated scenes to fill in what the cameras could not capture.
Who Is Elizabeth Holmes?
Holmes founded Theranos, a blood-testing startup that claimed it could run a wide range of tests from just a few drops of blood. The company collapsed after its technology was found not to work as promised.
In 2022, Holmes was convicted of defrauding investors but acquitted of defrauding patients. She is serving an 11-year sentence in a Texas prison. Earlier this year, her legal team asked President Donald Trump for an early release.
Her story was already told in Hulu's Emmy-winning series "The Dropout," which is one reason Fielder was not sure there was a documentary to make. "I didn't really see a documentary project in it because it felt like the story was [already] told," he told The Playlist. Meeting her changed his mind. "She seemed so genuine at times," he said.
The Directors Behind It
Fielder, 43, is a Canadian comedian and filmmaker best known for his Comedy Central series "Nathan for You" and HBO's "The Rehearsal," which both blur the line between reality TV and comedy. He also co-created and starred in Showtime's "The Curse" with Emma Stone. "You Can See Everything" is his first feature documentary as a director.
Oppenheim, 30, is a Harvard-trained documentary filmmaker known for "Some Kind of Heaven," about life in The Villages retirement community in Florida, and HBO's "Ren Faire." He also directed the A24 drama Robert Pattinson's "Primetime", which hit theaters last month.
The two first connected years ago, after Oppenheim cold-emailed Fielder as a fan. When Oppenheim learned Holmes wanted someone to document her life, they pitched the idea to A24, warning the studio, "We cannot promise we'll deliver anything on this."
The experience left both of them shaken. "I feel like our brains were scrambled," Fielder said. The film premiered as an unannounced surprise screening at the Telluride Film Festival in September.
Amanda Seyfried's Surprise Role
Spoiler warning: This section discusses a surprise in the film.
After Fielder loses access to Holmes when her prison sentence begins, he brings in Amanda Seyfried, who won an Emmy for playing Holmes in "The Dropout." Seyfried reenacts scenes that happened before cameras were rolling and appears as herself. She also goes with Fielder to the home of Billy Evans and confronts him. Christopher Abbott plays Evans in recreated scenes.
A Hit With Critics and Audiences
The film opened to about $15 million at the domestic box office, the second-biggest opening ever for a non-musical documentary behind "Fahrenheit 9/11," BroBible reported. It holds a 98% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
A24 is also pushing the film for the Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress for Seyfried. It faces stiff competition from films like Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey," but its strong start has made it one of the most talked-about movies of the season.
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