Morality, Manipulation, and Monsters In "You Can See Everything"

I wasn't sure what to expect when I sat down to watch You Can See Everything.

For those unaware, Elizabeth Holmes, founder of the tech (scam) company Theranos, recently had a documentary released about her directed by Nathan Fielder. I wasn't too familiar with Holmes's history, and I hadn't heard of Fielder before, so I went into this film without much prior knowledge. This was a good choice, in my opinion, because I didn't come in with too many preconceived notions about Holmes or Fielder.

You Can See Everything opens on the ocean, in Holmes's and her husband, Billy Evans's, temporary home in San Francisco. The ocean seems to represent freedom, which makes sense as the first half of the film takes place in the 30 days leading up to Holmes's prison sentence.

Throughout the film, Holmes and Evans try to convince Fielder and the audience that Holmes never lied about Theranos. Fielder's comedic timing really shines throughout this section of the film. He asks very normal questions in a deadpan tone, only to be met with very shady answers which skirt any real answers.

"I know what you're feeling," said Evans.

"No you don't," said Fielder.

You Can See Everything is very much a film about falling prey to manipulation. Holmes can be very convincing in the way she presents herself as small and pure of heart. People in Holmes's life almost seem to baby her, coddling her from the reality of her actions.

"I feel like now I'm living in a parallel universe."

Holmes herself is not immune to manipulation, however. Holmes and Evans are in a messy, codependent relationship where they each seem to center the other in their respective worlds. While Holmes is in prison, Evans takes control of Holmes's social media accounts, creates an AI version of Holmes, and even takes power of attorney over her despite Holmes being very much alive and well. Fielder even gives Holmes this information, just for her to keep on loving Evans nonetheless.

I appreciate that the film allows us to empathize with Holmes while still understanding that she is a manipulator. It's important to remember that people who do awful things are still people. We may want to call them monsters, but to me, monsters have no moral agency. True monsters, like Frankenstein's monster, don't know it's wrong to destroy, but people do.

You Can See Everything is surprisingly funny, incredibly well shot, and very thoughtful. There's so much to talk about with this film, (I haven't even gotten into the recreations of events by Amanda Seyfried), but I'd recommend seeing it in a group and chatting with a friend about it.

It's a film that is certain to incite conversation.