Nathan Fielder's Elizabeth Holmes Documentary Premieres at New York Film Festival
The film, titled 'You Can See Everything,' offers an intimate look at Holmes in the 34 days before she began her prison sentence.
“You Can See Everything,” the documentary by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim about Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, premiered Wednesday at the New York Film Festival. The nearly three-hour film, shot secretly over three years, captures Holmes in the 34 days leading up to her May 2023 prison sentence.
The documentary first debuted with a surprise screening at the Telluride Film Festival on September 6, quickly becoming one of the year's most discussed films. For its New York premiere at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center, moviegoers began lining up as early as 3 a.m. for the sold-out 8 p.m. screening.
“You Can See Everything,” set for an October 16 release by A24, chronicles the final days of Holmes' freedom. Fielder, known for his absurdist comedy series like “Nathan For You” and “The Rehearsal,” admitted his own bewilderment regarding the events he documented. “I am still struggling to this day to understand what I went through,” Fielder said during a Q&A session following the screening.
Holmes entered a Texas prison in May 2023 to serve her sentence after a conviction on four felony counts of fraud and conspiracy. The Theranos scandal, which rocked Silicon Valley, involved Holmes’s promise to revolutionize healthcare with a blood-testing technology. Theranos claimed its devices could scan for diseases using only a few drops of blood.
Holmes chose to allow Fielder and Oppenheim intimate access to her life with her partner, hotel heir Billy Evans, and their two children during this period. Fielder lived in a guest house at their Del Mar, California, home, filming from morning to night. He conducted interviews with Holmes and Evans in various settings, including their bedroom and bathroom.
“I mean, I cannot tell you how weird it was that we were there,” Fielder stated. “I wouldn't think I'd be, like, the person that you would want for your final 34 days of freedom. I'm not the most, like, comforting.”
The filmmakers learned that Holmes and Evans had approached A24 about a potential documentary. Fielder expressed curiosity about meeting Holmes, though he didn't initially anticipate a feature film emerging. “When I met her, I remember having this weird experience,” Fielder recalled. “She seems so genuine at times but then I'm like, (expletive), tracking my thoughts and being like, ‘I know she’s a liar.’ ”
Oppenheim, who also directed “Primetime,” noted the collective cognitive dissonance experienced by the film's crew. “Every person who worked on this movie was going through a similar cognitive dissonance,” he said. “We would unpack the day's events and no one could agree on seemingly mundane moments that would transpire.”
Within “You Can See Everything,” Fielder explores not only the truth about Holmes's claims but also broader themes of identity, performance, fiction, and control. Holmes and her former romantic partner, Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, founded Theranos with ambitions of disrupting healthcare. The company raised nearly $1 billion from investors and achieved a valuation of $4.5 billion by 2014.
However, a series of investigative articles by The Wall Street Journal exposed flaws in the company's technology, leading to its collapse. In 2018, Holmes and Balwani were indicted by the U.S. Justice Department on charges of fraud and conspiracy. Balwani was convicted separately on 12 felony counts and sentenced to nearly 13 years in prison.
Fielder and Oppenheim urged the audience at the premiere not to reveal specific plot points or twists in the film, which include dramatic recreations and other stylistic choices aimed at exploring the truth. Despite their requests for discretion, the filmmakers actively engaged in discussions about the film's content and meaning.