Elizabeth Holmes Film Fuels Image-Rehab Debate as $45 Million Hit Blurs Theranos Fraud
Updated
Updated · Slate · Oct 26
Elizabeth Holmes Film Fuels Image-Rehab Debate as $45 Million Hit Blurs Theranos Fraud
3 articles · Updated · Slate · Oct 26
Summary
Critics say "You Can See Everything" is doing more than reviving Elizabeth Holmes on screen: its intimate access before prison is softening public judgment of her 2022 investor-fraud conviction.
Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s film follows Holmes for roughly a month, with Fielder living with her family at times as she denies lying and the movie leans into ambiguity rather than re-litigating Theranos’ false claims.
That approach, reviewers argue, omits grounding facts — including a reported $28,000-a-month rental and private-jet travel — that could counter the impression Holmes was mainly a victim of misogyny, trauma or manipulative men.
John Carreyrou, biotech reporter Matthew Herper and whistleblower Tyler Shultz all warn the film risks recasting a "breathtaking fraud" as an unknowable character study, even as some viewers leave more sympathetic to Holmes.
The debate lands as the documentary becomes a cultural and awards contender: it has topped $45 million domestically, turned into an A24 box-office success and sparked online merch and commentary that may further aid Holmes’ image.