A Surreal Portrait of a Fallen Icon
Audiences are calling it “transfixing,” “insane,” and unlike anything they’ve ever witnessed. A24’s highly anticipated documentary “You Can See Everything” made its surprise debut at the Telluride Film Festival over the weekend, offering viewers an unprecedented glimpse into the final 34 days of Elizabeth Holmes’ life before she began serving her 11-year prison sentence for massive fraud.
The three-hour film, directed by Canadian comedian Nathan Fielder alongside Lance Oppenheim, chronicles the filmmakers’ time with Holmes in the spring of 2023 as she prepared to surrender to federal authorities. What emerged from those intimate encounters is being hailed as a genre-bending exploration that blurs the lines between documentary, reality television, and psychological drama.
Unprecedented Access to a Convicted Fraudster
The documentary’s most striking feature is its extraordinary access to Holmes during such a pivotal moment in her life. According to Deadline’s Pete Hammond, the film crew was granted entry into Holmes’ San Diego home, where she lived with her partner Billy Evans and their children, creating a level of intimacy rarely achieved in true crime storytelling.
“It’s unlike anything I have ever seen in terms of access,” Hammond wrote, noting how Fielder gradually earned Holmes’ trust to the point where she invited him along for her final journey to prison.
Early reactions suggest the film succeeds in capturing something genuinely unique about its subject. One viewer on social media wrote: “What the f*** did I just watch? One of the best documentaries I’ve ever seen.”
A Complex Exploration of Truth and Performance
Critics are finding it challenging to categorise the film within traditional documentary frameworks. Variety’s Owen Gleiberman described it as “a one-of-a-kind reality-TV-as-hangout-movie psychodrama circus” that maintains its grip throughout its lengthy runtime.
“The sensation of ‘WTF? I’ve got to watch this!’ did not subside as the movie went on. It only intensified,” Gleiberman noted, praising the film’s ability to weave together themes of reality, performance, deception, and mental health.
The official logline promises that what begins as an “intimate portrait of an enigmatic felon becomes a mind-bending journey into the abyss,” suggesting that viewers should expect something far removed from conventional biographical documentaries.
Holmes’ Continuing Legal Journey
Elizabeth Holmes was convicted in January 2022 on four counts of fraud and conspiracy for misleading investors about the capabilities of Theranos’ blood-testing technology. Her deception reportedly cost investors millions of dollars, including contributions from high-profile figures like Rupert Murdoch and Larry Ellison.
She began serving her sentence in May 2023 at a federal prison in Texas, with a scheduled release date of March 19, 2032.
A teaser trailer released alongside the film’s premiere shows Fielder engaging in a peculiar conversation with Holmes, asking pointed questions while maintaining direct eye contact. “I don’t have anything to deceive you on,” Holmes tells him. “Of course I’m not deceiving you. I’m engaging with you as a human being. Why would I deceive you? There’s no reason for me to do that.”
The documentary will receive a theatrical release in October, likely generating further discussion about the ethics of documentary filmmaking and the public’s ongoing fascination with true crime narratives.
Why it Matters
This documentary arrives at a time when society continues to grapple with questions about accountability, manipulation, and the nature of truth in public life. By granting filmmakers unprecedented access during such a vulnerable period, Holmes has inadvertently provided a case study in how even the most notorious figures can maintain an air of normalcy while facing the consequences of their actions. The film’s experimental approach challenges traditional notions of documentary objectivity, forcing audiences to confront their own assumptions about guilt, redemption, and the stories we tell ourselves about success and failure. As streaming platforms increasingly blur the boundaries between entertainment and journalism, “You Can See Everything” represents both the possibilities and pitfalls of immersive documentary storytelling in the digital age.