What is a lie? And what is the truth? Perhaps a combination of unanswerable questions, two sides of the same coin, especially in the context of Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s new film You Can See Everything. The three-hour documentary about Elizabeth Holmes, the founder and fraudster of Theranos, attempts to remark on those very questions. Of course, it doesn’t do so simply, creating a film you really have to see to believe.

Elizabeth Holmes is no stranger to the spotlight. Over the past twenty years, her public image has remained constant, yet the context around it has vastly fluctuated, from up-and-coming genius to healthcare sector disruptor to corporate criminal. You Can See Everything joins Holmes just 34 days before she is set to go to prison for eleven years, hoping to glimpse the truth of what happened on her journey. Simple in idea, complex in execution.

That very sentence couldn’t ring more true for filmmaker Nathan Fielder. Not shy of the public spotlight himself, most recently aiding in the passing of a mental health bill for pilots because of his show The Rehearsal, he continues to find ways to up the ante on what is expected of him and his projects. If you are a long-time fan of his, whether through his personality or projects, you may think you have an idea of what You Can See Everything will be. You’d be wrong.

Through his signature awkward interaction style and willingness to question the entirety of how the human experience works, Fielder finds himself once again redefining not only how we see people, but how we see the world. The first hour or so of the documentary is fairly standard. The camera captures the daily life of Elizabeth Holmes – her rocking her baby to sleep, her tending to legal phone calls, and, most importantly, her interactions and conversations with her partner Billy Evans. It’s after this first hour, and the conversations that once occurred behind closed doors that now are on display for all the world to see, that the film shifts. It goes from an interesting follow-up of a captivating person to something much deeper and darker.

It’s in the second hour, and the subsequent third, where the combined brilliance of Fielder and Oppenheim hypnotizes not only your eyes, but your being. Oppenheim, fresh off directing Primetime, continues his excavation of discovery surrounding people who, simply put, view their work as a greater good. First with Chris Hansen, portrayed by Robert Pattinson in the tingly and bleak scripted comedy thriller, also for A24, and now with Elizabeth Holmes. Different approaches to the same medium and the same fascination. They share more than that, too.

You Can See Everything pushes the boundaries of documentary filmmaking in a way that didn’t seem possible before its release. Sharing the same cinematographer and composer as Primetime – David Bolen and Ari Balouzian – the movie roughly acts as a scripted thriller. It’s shot, scored, and blocked as if you are watching a deep drama about two characters opening up to one another about their innermost selves. Funnily enough, the film’s editor is none other than Adam Locke-Norton, who worked with Fielder on Nathan For You, The Rehearsal, and The Curse. The creative team blends together styles so seamlessly and profoundly that it’s impossible not to become raptured by what is being presented on the screen, and what is being asked throughout the film.

Each layer of the movie probes an idea that lends itself as a bridge to the next, bigger item being explored. If there is an objective truth to a scandal as big as Holmes’ Thernos, it is important at first, yet it gradually gives way for Fielder to investigate something much more meaningful. Whether either Fielder or Holmes is ever being their authentic selves is up for debate. The dividing line between authenticity in being a true version of yourself or a character you present is razor thin, and the film understands this quandary. As do the subjects of the documentary, aiding in just what makes this piece of filmmaking a standout not only of the year, but of the decade, and seemingly all time.

You Can See Everything doesn’t necessarily offer an answer to the difference between a lie and the truth. It simply presents that idea and engages in strange, deranged, and jaw-dropping ways of seeing interpretations of solutions. It seems that this film allows us to see everything we wanted to, or needed to, regarding Elizabeth Holmes. Whether we choose to believe what we see, that’s another stroke of genius from Fielder entirely. This film will undoubtedly alter the way you view relationships, words, and especially the world.

Review Courtesy of Ethan Simmie

Feature Image Credit to A24