The documentary *You Can See Everything*, co-directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, has emerged as a surprising commercial success, becoming the highest-grossing U.S. documentary in 15 years just two weeks after its release. The film, which premiered in U.S. cinemas and recently screened in London, offers a hybrid portrayal of Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of the now-defunct blood-testing company Theranos, blending elements of documentary and psychodrama.
Holmes, once celebrated as America’s youngest self-made billionaire, was convicted and sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for defrauding investors before her sentence was reduced multiple times. The film delves into the complexities of Holmes’s character and her capacity to persuade others about her innocence, inviting audiences to reassess widely held perceptions of her.
In addition to *You Can See Everything*, Holmes’s story has sparked renewed interest in various related media. John Carreyrou’s investigative book *Bad Blood* has re-entered bestseller lists, while the ABC News podcast *The Dropout*, hosted by Rebecca Jarvis, has reported a 900% increase in listeners. The Disney/Hulu television adaptation of *The Dropout*, which debuted in 2022, has also experienced a surge in viewership, reaching number 47 on IMDb’s “Most Popular TV Shows” list.
*The Dropout* podcast and series focus on Holmes’s early career and explore the gap between her public persona and the reality behind Theranos’s technology. Holmes once claimed her device could run “any lab test from a drop of blood from a finger,” yet deposition transcripts reveal her uncertainty over the number of tests the machine could actually perform. The television adaptation dramatizes Holmes’s professional and personal relationship with Sunny Balwani, her business partner and former boyfriend, while retaining much of the factual basis established by the podcast.
Both the podcast and TV series highlight the technological shortcomings of Theranos’s devices and the toxic corporate culture that suppressed employee dissent. Reports of false positive test results and the use of third-party machines instead of Theranos’s own technology underscore the extent of the company's failures. The narrative also touches on the suicide of Ian Gibbons, a former chief scientist at Theranos, who died before he could testify against the company.
Holmes’s case was part of a broader wave of high-profile scandals involving fraudulent figures, such as Anna Delvey and the Fyre Festival. Over time, public discussion around these "grifts" has evolved, with some figures becoming media caricatures while others were reassessed more sympathetically.
Filmmakers Fielder and Oppenheim incorporate contemporary themes of technology and AI, presenting Holmes not only as a disgraced entrepreneur but also as a mother facing impending incarceration. Despite its comedic and dramatic elements, *You Can See Everything* grapples with unsettling truths about deception, belief, and the consequences of ambition in Silicon Valley. Holmes herself asserts in the film that “the world believes a reality about me that isn’t true,” underscoring the enduring complexity and controversy of her story.