Well, this one really did come out of nowhere. A24 has unveiled the official teaser for You Can See Everything, a surprise Elizabeth Holmes documentary from Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim that was made largely in secret before being revealed as the mystery screening at the Telluride Film Festival. And if you thought the Theranos story had already been picked clean, the early reactions suggest this is something considerably stranger. Watch the teaser above and get the spoiler-free essentials below.

So, What Exactly Is You Can See Everything?

The starting point alone is remarkable. A24’s official synopsis reads: “Thirty-four days before she’s sent to prison, notorious Silicon Valley founder Elizabeth Holmes invites a skeptical film crew to document her every move.”

From there, what could have been a fairly contained portrait apparently turned into something much bigger. Filming with Holmes and her family began 34 days before she reported to federal prison in May 2023, with the filmmakers given extensive access during those final weeks. But the documentary didn’t end when Holmes went to prison: what followed became a three-year filmmaking journey for Fielder and Oppenheim.

Holmes, of course, founded blood-testing company Theranos and became one of Silicon Valley’s most celebrated young entrepreneurs before the company’s claims unravelled. She was ultimately convicted on four fraud-related counts involving investors and originally sentenced to 11 years and three months in federal prison.

The level of access here appears to be a major part of what sets the film apart. Vanity Fair reports that Fielder actually lived with Holmes, her husband Billy Evans and their family during some of those final days before her imprisonment.

That’s quite a different vantage point from previous Holmes projects such as Alex Gibney’s documentary The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley or Hulu limited series The Dropout.

The Teaser Tells Us Almost Nothing, Which Is Probably the Point

The teaser wisely avoids trying to explain the documentary. Instead, it gives us one deeply uncomfortable interaction between Holmes and Fielder.

Holmes insists that she has no reason to deceive him as the pair stare intensely, like, very intensely, at one another. Fielder eventually asks, “You’re being real right now?” Holmes doesn’t hesitate: “I’m always being real.”

And that’s essentially the hook. Is Fielder interviewing Holmes? Studying her? Is she studying him? The teaser gives us enough awkwardness to make the dynamic intriguing without giving away where any of this is actually heading.

Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim Make for a Fascinating Combination

If you’re wondering why those two names make this project particularly intriguing, their respective bodies of work offer a pretty good answer.

Canadian comedian and filmmaker Fielder is best known for Nathan for You and HBO’s The Rehearsal, projects that have pushed reality television and documentary-style comedy into increasingly strange territory. His work often places real people inside meticulously constructed situations, blurring performance and reality while Fielder himself remains an awkward, frequently inscrutable presence at the centre of it all.

Oppenheim comes from a more traditional documentary background, although his films aren’t exactly conventional either. His credits include Some Kind of Heaven, Spermworld and HBO docuseries Ren Faire, with his work often taking an unusually cinematic approach to real people and unusual worlds. He has also moved into narrative filmmaking with A24’s Primetime, starring Robert Pattinson in a story inspired by the world of To Catch a Predator.

In other words, you have a documentary filmmaker known for immersing himself in unusual worlds paired with Fielder, a filmmaker whose presence can make you question the reality of what you’re watching in the first place. Giving that combination this level of access to one of the most scrutinised figures of the past decade is already quite the proposition.

The Early Reviews Suggest You Should Know as Little as Possible

This is where we’re going to tread particularly carefully.

Deadline, Variety and Vanity Fair have all published pieces following the Telluride premiere, and the common thread is that You Can See Everything apparently goes to some extremely unexpected places. It’s also a substantial film, running 174 minutes, just shy of three hours.

There are already reviews discussing major turns and revelations, including one surprise the filmmakers specifically asked the Telluride audience not to reveal. We’re not going anywhere near any of that here.

Perhaps the most enticing description comes from Fielder himself. Speaking after the premiere, Vanity Fair quotes him as saying: “I really am struggling to this day to understand exactly what I experienced… Truly, to this day, I don’t quite know what I went through.”

When Is You Can See Everything Coming Out?

A24 has confirmed that You Can See Everything will be released in theatres this October, although an exact date has yet to be announced.

An Australian theatrical date has yet to be announced.

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