A new feature-length documentary titled You Can See Everything places convicted Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes at the center of an unsettling exploration of truth, deception, and nonfiction filmmaking. Directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, the 174-minute film follows Holmes and her family during the final weeks leading up to her incarceration, offering an unprecedented look at her life before prison.
The project, which opened in theaters following its secret premiere at the Telluride Film Festival, features Fielder interacting directly with Holmes rather than observing her from a safe distance. According to early reviews and festival disclosures, Fielder actually lived at the home of Holmes and her fiancé, Billy Evans, in San Diego while they raised their two children and prepared for her legal surrender.
Unprecedented Access and Creative Techniques
Holmes was convicted in 2022 of conspiracy to defraud investors through Theranos, the blood-testing startup she founded based on false claims that its proprietary technology could run comprehensive medical diagnostics using only a few drops of blood. She was subsequently sentenced to 11 years in federal prison, reporting to Federal Prison Camp, Bryan, in Texas.
Before turning herself in, Holmes and Evans invited Fielder and Oppenheim to document their lives. The subjects claimed they wanted to give the filmmakers unrestricted access to refute media narratives surrounding her downfall, including the popular Hulu dramatic adaptation The Dropout starring Amanda Seyfried.
True to Fielder’s signature style seen in programs like The Rehearsal, the documentary incorporates reenactments of scenes the filmmakers were unable to capture originally. It also takes unexpected narrative twists, including a mid-film appearance by a prominent Hollywood actress whose identity was heavily guarded during initial festival screenings.
Breakdown in Communication and Lingering Questions
During a post-screening question-and-answer session in Los Angeles-moderated by actress Emma Stone-Fielder and Oppenheim discussed the psychological toll of making the film. Fielder admitted that he still struggles to process the experience of living with the disgraced executive.
“I really am struggling to this day to understand exactly what I experienced,” Fielder told the audience. “And one of the things I’m genuinely excited about is for this movie to come out and for people to help me understand what I experienced. Truly, to this day, I don’t quite know what I went through.”
The directors noted that consensus among the production crew was impossible to reach. Team members frequently debated whether Holmes was a master manipulator or someone being manipulated by her partner, Billy Evans. Investigators within the project discovered that Evans appeared heavily involved in managing Holmes’s public image and digital footprint.
Communication between the filmmakers and the subjects ultimately deteriorated near the end of production. This breakdown occurred because Evans attempted to exert control over the creative process. According to reports from the Los Angeles presentation, neither Holmes nor her husband had viewed the completed film prior to its public rollout, though they were fully aware of its release via distributor A24.
