I watched You Can See Everything in theaters, not knowing what to expect. I’d watched the trailer at least 20 times beforehand, read the movie’s wiki (I know, I know, I shouldn’t have), and also watched many videos of The Dropout to glean as much information as possible in preparation. I’d heard people call the movie a work of artistry. On Rotten Tomatoes, it scores 99%, and I recall one critic saying they’d be thinking about this movie for a long time. So I walked in with a lot of anticipation.
I must say, the movie did not disappoint. To give an overview, You Can See Everything is formally a documentary about Nathan Fielder (a deadpan comedian) and Lance Oppenheim (a filmmaker) staying with Elizabeth Holmes (the disgraced ex-CEO of Theranos) and her husband, Billy Evans, to chronicle their time together as a family in the 30 days before her 11-year prison sentence. The movie is definitely much more than that... and the second half of the movie is wildly different from the first half.
I want to point out that Holmes asked for this documentary to be made about her.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Billy, as Holmes’ husband, plays a huge role in the film. Initially, he seems to be a supportive partner who is in love with her personality quirks, but we soon see that he may be in love because he has complete control over their money matters and her image, and is put on a pedestal by Holmes. Holmes claims “Theranos 2.0” is Billy’s idea. He’s been controlling her Twitter accounts, publishing an AI version of her online, and supporting a media star in putting up billboards of her all over the place... billboards with images of Holmes that she disapproves of on camera. When Fielder brings this up with Billy, he simply states that Holmes approves of everything he does and would totally agree with his decisions. Holmes’ life goal is to build monuments of love for him, he claims, and it turns out... that, verbally, she seems to.
So do Billy and Holmes love each other?
“She was raped at Stanford,” we find out from Holmes’ dad. Holmes’ dad claims that, after that, Sunny (the former COO of Theranos) was to blame for her downfall. Yet when Fielder asks him about Billy, he says, “I trust Billy.” Granted, we don’t know whether he says it out of fear of Billy or genuine belief. As an audience member, it’s easy to tell Billy’s a narcissist.
As for Holmes, the film makes a case for her innocence. She appears authentic through Fielder and Oppenheim’s eyes: crying a lot on camera, expressing her good intentions for Theranos and the world, and generally showing love toward her partner, Billy, and their children. Furthermore, there are sequences in the film that reveal her mind works differently from other people’s. For example, she couldn’t understand the classic joke “Who’s on First?” and, in a rather stunning sequence, couldn’t understand how the two phrases “this machine can run multiple tests” and “this machine is capable of running multiple tests” are different. Plus, she reveals that she’s overly trusting... which raises the question: what is the true reason for Holmes’ downfall? Is she truly a victim of sexual harassment and toxic relationships? Or is she an evil genius? It's hard to say, but the subliminal evidence of deceit continues: Holmes claims in the film that she never felt comfortable being in the spotlight and doesn’t care about being rich. Yet she’s had a documentary filmed about her, and she also chose Billy as her husband, who is the textbook definition of a cold-blooded entrepreneur.
I was impressed that Fielder was a “character” in this documentary, and I think that’s what makes this film Oscar-worthy. We end up learning just as much about Fielder as we do about his subjects (Holmes and Billy). Throughout the entire process, Holmes appears unfailingly kind to Fielder, allowing him to “see everything”: she gives him unblinking eye contact when he questions her, and extra-warm embraces, even from prison. It’s fascinating to see that somewhere along the way, Fielder develops a soft corner for Holmes. In the second half of the film, he brings in Amanda Seyfried (the actress who plays Holmes in The Dropout) to portray some of Holmes’ actions that he didn’t get a chance to film. As they go through the script, Seyfried raises the meta-dilemma that Fielder could be selectively remembering what Holmes says to make her appear more genuine. “Why?” he asks. “Because you care about her,” Seyfried says. Fielder defends his accuracy, but you can then see a twinkle in his eyes as he reminisces about his time with Holmes. The ending almost makes me think the joke is on us, the audience, for trusting Fielder to tell the truth. A classic Nathan for You act.
My takeaway from the film is that Holmes is everything: delusional, Machiavellian, over-trusting and yet, capable of true human connection. It's clear she loves her children and cares about her family. In her own way, she loves Billy too.
The film is fascinating to watch, reflect on, and discuss. I would highly recommend it.
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