You Can See Everything

Screened at Cinemark Century at the River, Rancho Mirage, California

The latest project from Nathan Fielder, known for recent shows including HBO's The Rehearsal, and the fictional Showtime mini-series The Curse, is back with his first feature film documentary, alongside co-director Lance Oppenheim. It's about Elizabeth Holmes, currently in federal prison for fraud after ripping off investors over what she claimed was a breakthrough device in blood-testing accomplished via her company, Theranos. I was lucky enough to barely know anything about this story, one of those that completely escaped me at the time it reached its peak in 2017. So I had a different kind of bias going into this, being fascinated by what was to me a new, fresh story.

Here, Fielder and Oppenheim attempt to figure out what the real story is with her after being miraculously granted 24/7 access to her and her current husband and two kids as they live in a San Diego rental house for the month prior to reporting for her 11-year prison sentence. I try not to give plot details in most of my "reviews" and I am certainly not going to do it here, but while this is 100% a slow burn of a film, my tendency to get sleepy while watching quieter films in the theater did NOT happen even once during the film's 3-hour running time. It's that fascinating a story, and fascinating how it plays out here. The bottom line with You Can See Everything, which it must be said is part documentary and part dramatization (Amanda Seyfried?? Wasn't expecting that!), is that Holmes, and her hotel heir husband are two of the more narcissistic sociopaths of today's society, and will ring very familiar to anyone paying even a sliver of attention to today's news.

While this is a "classic Nathan Fielder" project without question, I don't think it's his best. Not that I'm terribly familiar with everything he's done, but in comparison, I found the latest season of The Rehearsal to be far more compelling and interesting. But that doesn't mean this isn't worth a watch. In fact, I think it's pretty timely and important, and by its end, while you may think you've got a handle on her and her husband's skills in mass manipulation, you just may feel back at square one, and in awe and darn near respect at the level of grift. Fascinating stuff. Strong recommendation.