Why Black Folks Are Obsessed With the New Documentary, ‘You Can See Everything’
Nathan Fielder’s new meta-documentary film, “You Can See Everything,” is social media’s latest movie obsession. Black folks everywhere can’t stop singing its praises. And trust us when we tell you, there are plenty of good reasons.
The film centers around infamous Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes in the 34 days leading up to her prison sentence, as Fielder documents her private life. Across the nearly three-hour documentary, he explores the complicated questions surrounding her fraud conviction, public image, and motives.
And while this movie is truly centered around a whole bunch of white people’s mess, it’s abundantly clear that Black folks love this film and the way it makes you question almost everything you’re watching.
TikTok user @JustLatasha raved about the film, describing it as “grand documentary filmmaking” that’s also funny and intellectually encompassing. She complimented the movie for never really answering whether or not audiences should be mad at Holmes for what she did.
“We have to question whether or not Elizabeth is intentionally a part of this ruse, where she is a victim, and the men are doing the dirty work, and her hands are clean because she didn’t mean it, or she really is a victim of these circumstances,” she said.
She went on to talk about Amanda Seyfried (who portrayed Holmes in Hulu’s 2022 series “The Dropout”) making a cameo in the documentary that evolves into a larger role, reenacting unrecorded interactions and helping Fielder blur the lines between reality and performance.
@JustLatasha maintains that Seyfried challenged the director’s integrity and whether or not he’s “manipulating” the story or pieces of the truth as he actually starts to care about Holmes. The inclusion of Holmes is a large part of what helps turn this movie from a simple documentary into something else entirely, the user points out.
On TikTok, Smitty 1432 explained that the film was well worth its long runtime, leaving him with his mind blown. While he didn’t give any spoilers, he explained how multiple scenes in the film made the audience gasp, rise from their seats, and lean in. By the time the film was over, he walked away feeling like it was the best thing he’d seen this year.
“If you were to tell me that one of the best movies this year was a documentary, I wouldn’t believe you. Until I just finished ‘You Can See Everything,’” he said. “Honestly, [it’s] not [just] one of the best documentaries I’ve seen—but one of the best movies I’ve seen.”
User Straw Hat Goofy said he enjoyed the film because it never really gave viewers a clear answer on whether Holmes was truly as nefarious as some think or if she was just someone who got caught up in her own dreams and aspirations—by any means. He also praised the way the film was told, how it told multiple stories in one, and included Seyfried in a way that truly represented “unique storytelling.”
“The movie doesn’t really give you a clear answer. Which is the masterpiece of this movie,” he said in part. It drops reveal after reveal after reveal, and it constantly changes how you view this person. Are we truly being deceived by one of the greatest con artists of our time? Or are we just projecting onto this person, who simply had a dream of making the world a better place?”
