If you’re hoping that Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s You Can See Everything will give you solid answers as to whether Elizabeth Holmes purposefully lied or not, I’m sorry to say you’ll be disappointed. But if you’re hoping to have even more questions as well as finding a reason to love Amanda Seyfried even more, then you’ll get your wish.
You Can See Everything is a documentary that was done by request of Holmes and her now fiancé Billy Evans. The two decided to invite a film crew to document the weeks they had together before Holmes self surrendered to a federal prison camp. They asked filmmaker Nathan Fielder to be the one and he brought Lance Oppenheim as his codirector.
If you don’t know, because I had forgotten this before watching the movie, Elizabeth Holmes was found guilty of defrauding investors in her company Theranos. She claimed they developed a machine that could run hundreds of tests with a single drop of blood, but the problem was that no such machine existed. Since Holmes defrauded rich investors, she was actually held accountable for her actions. If she had just ruined the economy or stolen from poor people or people of color, she wouldn’t have gotten more than a slap on the wrist (or she could have been president). Please watch The Big Short for a great example of how ruining the economy doesn’t bring any consequences.
When I walked out of this movie I was, and still am, convinced that there are only two possibilities. The first is that she did it and she is a master manipulator who just so happened to get caught. The second option, and the more likely one in my opinion, is that she’s being manipulated by the awful men i her life.
Holmes shows some signs of being somewhere on the autism spectrum and yes, this could be part of her rouse, but if this really is what she’s like, then Sunny Balwani and now maga poster boy Billy Evans are taking advantage of her. Since I want to keep this spoiler free, I’ll just say there’s one scene where Fielder shows her a comedy skit and asks if she gets it and if her answer was legitimate, then I fully believe she’s been manipulated by Balwani back then and Evans now.
This is almost a 3 hour long movie and Holmes goes to prison a little after the halfway mark. That’s because so much kept happening that Fielder and Oppenheim had a bigger story to tell. First Billy Evans, the boyfriend, now fiancé, is a huge asshole. There were plenty of signs he was garbage in the first half of the movie, but the second half leaves no doubt. Not only is he maga, but he’s one of those awful rich white boys who used to hump charlie kirk’s leg. Maybe if they had kissed his neck instead, things would have turned out different.
But one of the most interesting parts of the film is when Amanda Seyfried is brought in. This wasn’t a random celebrity cameo in this documentary. Seyfried played Elizabeth Holmes in a fictionalized version of her story on Hulu called The Dropout. Because of her loose tie to Elizabeth Holmes she too is interviewed by Fielder and I think she may be the best part of the movie. Even though she’s a celebrity, Seyfried is a stand-in for the average view. She says a lot of what I would have said if I was with Fielder.
This was an wonderfully shot documentary that raises more questions than it gives answers. It’s also funny at times as Nathan Fielder’s dead eye stare coupled with the awkward silences he chose to keep in the film leave the viewer with nothing else to do but laugh.
Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim did something amazing. They made me pay good money for the ticket and then had me spend 3 hours of my time watching a documentary about someone I didn’t really give a shit about. Holmes’s big crime was defrauding investors? Who gives a shit? Why is she spending 11 years in prison while thousands of innocent people are being detained by ICE? Why is she getting punished when wealthy corporations inflate prices for foods, drugs, and gas, just so we’ll spend more and none of them are getting punished? But by the end of this movie, I cared. Fielder and Oppenheim made a fantastic film and it’s easily in my top 10 of the year.
You Can See Everything: Gets a 9 out of 11