A24
Note: This analysis contains significant spoilers for the documentary “You Can See Everything.”
The Meta-Documentary Phenomenon: Deconstructing Elizabeth Holmes
The collaborative project from Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, “You Can See Everything,” has become a cultural touchstone, shattering expectations at the box office. Rather than serving as a traditional biographical account of disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes and her partner Billy Evans, the film functions as a psychological experiment. It intentionally dismantles the boundaries of non-fiction storytelling, ultimately positing that the act of filming a subject is an inherently flawed method for uncovering objective truth.
Performance as Truth: Amanda Seyfried’s Dual Role
A central pillar of the film’s unconventional structure is the involvement of Amanda Seyfried. Having previously portrayed the tech mogul in the 2022 limited series “The Dropout,” Seyfried’s return to the character serves as a bridge between dramatization and reality. The directors utilize her presence to create a “hall of mirrors” effect-most notably in a sequence where the actress observes footage of Holmes watching her own fictionalized portrayal.
This technique goes beyond mere cameo appearances. Fielder and Oppenheim task Seyfried with stepping back into the persona of Holmes to reconstruct specific private interactions that the documentary crew was unable to capture in real-time. By blending these scripted reenactments with candid, unscripted footage, the film forces the audience to question the authenticity of the “documentary” format itself. In an era where audiences are increasingly skeptical of media narratives, this approach mirrors the broader public fascination with the “performative” nature of high-profile figures like Holmes, whose public persona was arguably her most elaborate invention.
