Review: You Can See Everything

Official Synopsis: Thirty-four days before she's sent to prison, notorious Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes invites a skeptical film crew to document her every move. What begins as an intimate portrait becomes a mind-bending three-year journey.

I can't remember the last time a documentary has generated this much buzz prior to Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim's You Can See Everything. Fielder, famous for his comedy staring incredulously at the never blinking Elizabeth Holmes in that teaser was enough to make everyone both uncomfortable and intrigued. And that feeling it kept out for it's nearly 3 hour run time. It feels far more cinematic than the typical talking heads style doc we're used to. 

Like everything else you've probably heard, the less you know about where this goes the better. I would take it a step further and tell you to not even look at the film's IMDb page if you REALLY want to be surprised. 

The amount of access Elizabeth and her husband Billy gave Fielder is truly kind of insane. He literally lives with them at one point. All under the guise of "I have nothing to hide" but Elizabeth Holmes has always had something to hide. That's what makes her a polarizing figure. I thought most people agreed that she was being deceitful and deliberately obtuse, but this doc raises the question of "Is she just really bad at communicating, and is she surrounding herself with terrible people who want to take advantage of her?" Because her husband Billy is astonishingly terrible. Like, over the top movie villain terrible. 

I think the way this documentary is made is an amazing feat, but there is a lack of conclusion that stops it just short of perfection. The nature of documentaries is for viewers to make their decisions, but with everything Fielder put out on the table, I expected him to have more of a concrete opinion by the end of it, and he really doesn't. Maybe it's because I'm more cynical than he is, but with all the red flags flapping in the wind around Elizabeth and Billy, I think I would've been a bit more harsh at the end of it.

I'm happy to say this doc lived up to the immense hype bestowed upon it by the festival crowd. I went to a Friday morning showing of this at home, and the theater was nearly fully. That NEVER happens when I see documentaries in theaters. 

Grade: A