You Can See Everything Review: Nathan Fielder’s Strange, Funny Elizabeth Holmes Documentary

12 hours ago

0 2 3 minutes read

You Can See Everything Review: Nathan Fielder's Strange, Funny Elizabeth Holmes Documentary

Most documentaries about Elizabeth Holmes tell the Theranos story from the outside. You Can See Everything does something stranger. It moves into her life.

Directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, and released by A24, the film follows Holmes in the final days before she reports to prison. It’s funny, uncomfortable, and full of surprises. Here’s our review.

You Can See Everything Story: 34 Days Before Prison

On May 30, 2023, Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes surrendered to Federal Prison Camp, Bryan, to serve a sentence for fraud. In the month before that, a film crew followed her and her family with cameras.

At first, the film shows only Holmes, her fiancé Billy Evans, and their two young children. Then the movie reveals something funny. Fielder is hiding nearby, headphones on, watching it all unfold. If you’ve seen his show The Rehearsal, it’s a familiar sight.

Soon Fielder moves into the family’s vacation house and begins interviewing Holmes and Evans. They talk about the future, including plans to keep working on the ideas behind Theranos even after Holmes goes to prison.

The film’s official description calls it a mind-bending journey that stretches over three years. To avoid spoilers, we won’t say more about where it goes.

Nathan Fielder Is the Perfect Guide

Fielder and Oppenheim made the film together, but Fielder is its star. That wasn’t planned. During early filming, the crew began capturing his reactions to what was happening, and those reactions became part of the film.

It works because Fielder is great at making audiences sit with discomfort. He asks simple questions, then keeps asking when the answers don’t make sense. He admits he doesn’t understand the science. That doesn’t stop him from digging.

The result is a series of conversations that tangle into knots. One exchange recalls the classic comedy routine “Who’s on First?” Fielder even makes Holmes and Evans watch the routine, then tries to explain why it’s funny. Holmes just stares and smiles, as she so often does.

A Documentary That’s Actually Funny

Don’t expect a dry, serious true-crime film. You Can See Everything is frequently hilarious. The humor comes from awkward silences, strange misunderstandings, and Fielder’s deadpan reactions.

Little moments become key scenes. In one early kitchen scene, Holmes is whisking eggs when Evans takes the bowl and starts doing it himself. Fielder asks why. The answer becomes a touchpoint for the entire film. It seems to explain a lot, until maybe it doesn’t.

The Look of the Film

The film is also beautifully shot. Cinematographer David Bolen uses natural light to create striking images, and he plays with shadows and silhouettes. Many shots stay sharp and clear even in dim rooms.

The square aspect ratio adds to the effect. It makes close-ups feel tighter and more claustrophobic. Every angle seems built to pull you in closer, just as your discomfort grows.

Truth, Perception, and a Big Question

The title says you can see everything. The film keeps asking whether that’s true.

Holmes claims she has never lied. That’s a hard statement to believe. Yet the more the film plays with layers of reality, the more real it feels. Even the people who seem to have a clear view of events can’t be fully trusted as neutral.

By the end, the film has moved far beyond another chapter in the Holmes story. It asks a bigger question: how much can you really know about someone, no matter how long you watch? The answer is only as much as they let you see.

Where It May Not Work for Everyone

The runtime is 174 minutes, nearly three hours. The film moves quickly and keeps shifting, so it rarely drags. Still, that’s a big commitment.

It’s also not a straightforward Theranos exposé. If you want a clean timeline of the company’s rise and fall, this isn’t that. The film focuses on one person and one strange stretch of time.

Finally, the film’s intimacy can feel invasive. It includes a few surprising moments, including brief male nudity. Some viewers will find the discomfort part of the appeal. Others may find it too much.

Who Should Watch It

This is a must-see for fans of Nathan Fielder’s work, especially The Rehearsal. It’s also a great pick for anyone curious about Holmes beyond the headlines. If you like documentaries that blur fact and performance, you’ll find plenty to chew on.

The Verdict

You Can See Everything is a bold, funny, and unsettling documentary that turns a famous scandal into a deeper story about truth. It’s long, strange, and full of twists. It’s also one of the most original documentaries of the year.

Rating: 4.5/5