You Can See Everything Review: Nathan Fielder Hilariously Examines the Idea of Truth

Of the filmmakers trying to blend comedy and documentary, few have been more successful than Nathan Fielder (Nathan for You, The Rehearsal). Fielder continues to up himself with each project, with his feature debut, You Can See Everything, being a total knockout, boasting its creator’s characteristic humor and twisty storytelling but also a level of depth that may come as more of a surprise.

What is You Can See Everything about?

In You Can See Everything, comedian and documentarian Nathan Fielder sits down with convicted felon and former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes just a month before she is set to report for her prison sentence, with the once-wunderkind hoping to set the record straight. But in true Fielder fashion, everything may not be as it seems.

You Can See Everything Review

The subjects that Fielder turns his lens on for You Can See Everything are just as quirky as those in The Rehearsal, but twenty times more interesting because you add in the variables of fame (or, perhaps more accurately, notoriety), power, and money. Fielder does a great job of making us question what we think we know about Holmes from other media about her — especially the dramatized series The Dropout — as well as asking himself whether the material he is collecting is any more truthful or a well-thought-out work of media planning.

While the film, of course, does explore the story of Elizabeth Holmes, it is ultimately much less interested in the question of “Did she do it?” than it is “Is she telling the truth?” Theranos and its technology have already been discussed plenty of times before, and those details are certainly relevant to the question at hand, but there’s something far deeper to be explored.

Holmes and Fielder are a perfect match for each other as they have very similar styles of delivery. Both are very deadpan, but whereas Fielder’s is in the service of humor, Holmes’s is in the service of ignorance (perhaps willfully). The film often feels like a competition of who can be more awkward, which results in quite a bit of laughter. Fielder often finds a laugh even in a reaction shot lingering for just a few seconds more than it feels it should.

Of the many unexpected things about You Can See Everything, perhaps most refreshing is the fact that it is a genuinely good work of journalism. Fans obviously know that Fielder can make an entertaining nonfiction project, but we haven’t yet seen him tackle something as grounded as Elizabeth Holmes’s story. The fact that Fielder is consistently probing and asking the right questions is impressive and allows his feature debut to feel like a substantial work and not merely a vanity project.

Although the nearly three-hour runtime might be cause for hesitation from some viewers, you can rest assured knowing that you do not feel the length of the film. There is not a single second of fat here, with every moment contributing something to the film comedically, emotionally, or thematically. It creates such an undeniably engaging watch.

Part of this is the aesthetic, which is where the influence of co-director Lance Oppenheim (Primetime, HBO’s Ren Faire) shows the most. Cinematographer David Bolen shoots the film with a claustrophobic, if aesthetically beautiful lens that makes the viewer feel uncomfortably close to the filmmaker and subject, while Ari Balouzian’s score perfectly captures the sense of unease that the filmmakers clearly want the audience to feel.

The other reason why You Can See Everything is so engaging is the M. Night Shyamalan-level twist that happens midway through the film. Of course, we’ll refrain from saying anything else, per the request of A24 and the filmmakers. But speaking as broadly as possible, you might think you know where this story is headed, but you probably don’t.

Is You Can See Everything worth watching?

It has been a long time since something has pushed the documentary medium forward like You Can See Everything does. It’s hilarious, yes, but it’s also a fascinating doc about its subject as well as one of the most effective films to ever be made about the act of filmmaking.

You Can See Everything opens in theaters on October 16.

You Can See Everything Review: Nathan Fielder Hilariously Examines the Idea of Truth