By Mick Dillon and Scout Nicholson / The Jambar
Canadian actor and filmmaker Nathan Fielder made his codirectorial debut with the genre-bending documentary, “You Can See Everything,” which saw the No.1 spot at the domestic box office — the first documentary to do so since “Fahrenheit 9/11” in 2004.
“You Can See Everything,” released in theaters Oct. 16 and grossed over $40 million in its first two weeks. The film has since made over $63 million against its $7 million budget. It is the highest-rated film on Letterboxd with an average of 4.8/5 and has a 96% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The film follows founder and former CEO of Theranos Elizabeth Holmes’ final weeks with her family in 2023 before she was set to serve 11 years in federal prison. Holmes was convicted of three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy for her fraudulent company.
With almost three hours of content, the documentary still leaves audiences questioning what was real and if they really saw everything from Holmes.
Holmes and her husband, Billy Evans, gave the film crew unrestricted access to their lives for the 34 days leading up to her May 30, 2023 sentence. Fielder eventually moved into the couple’s beachside cottage in Del Mar, California.
Critics praise Fielder for the singularity of this documentary, as it takes qualities from different styles of movies and strays from the typical documentary format.
The film starts as a psychological dissection of Holmes and her husband, but takes several turns toward a metacritical analysis of all subjects involved in the documentary from codirectors Fielder and Lance Oppenheim to a surprise guest that appears towards the halfway mark.
Throughout the movie, the audience is left frustrated with Holmes’s husband, who is portrayed as a controlling partner. As a plotline, his character reflects a tendency from Holmes to gravitate toward these types of men, such as Holmes past partner and cofounder of Theranos, Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani.
The second half of the film follows an almost unreliable narrative from Fielder, which causes the audience to question his motives with Holmes. It becomes clear the time spent with her has led him to develop a meaningful connection outside out the film’s professional setting.
Throughout the second half, the audience must put blind trust in Fielder with certain scenes that rely only on his memories from interactions with Holmes.
Fielder is no stranger to creating avant-garde media with his 2022 HBO Max comedy documentary series, “The Rehearsal.” Fielder’s fans can expect to be pleased with aspects of the Fielder Method integrated into the film.
Fielder succeeds at making the audience feel uncomfortable and tense at some points, bluntly saying what he is thinking in a comical tone.
This film took Fielder’s talent to the next level, and he explored broader, more serious themes. “You Can See Everything” is reflective, analytical and could have been hours longer despite its 175-minute runtime.