Still, at first glance, he was a puzzling choice to co-direct this film, as was Oppenheim, who calls himself a “docu-fantasist.” The two men met at some point, became friends and wanted to work together on a project; Holmes and his current partner Billy Evans were fans of Fielder. Thus, You can see everything was born.
Who plays who?
WARNING: Spoilers begin here.
Fielder and Holmes engage in staring contest
A24
Fielder and Holmes engage in staring contest
A24
Holmes reacts to watching the fictional version of his rise and fall: the Hulu series The desertion.
A24
Holmes reacts to watching the fictional version of his rise and fall: the Hulu series The desertion.
A24
Fielder and Holmes engage in staring contest
A24
Holmes reacts to watching the fictional version of his rise and fall: the Hulu series The desertion.
A24
Fielder and Oppenheim don’t spend much time rehashing the Theranos debacle and Holmes’ subsequent trial and conviction, which is fine; that’s been covered exhaustively elsewhere, including Gibney’s documentary, and it’s not what they were interested in capturing. They are more interested in vibrations than facts. Holmes and Evans invited Fielder and the film crew to stay with them for the 34 days leading up to his incarceration, and given the strangeness of their initial interactions, Fielder became an important on-camera presence in the film.
The first half of the film is boring, featuring lots of footage of Fielder and Holmes staring at each other, unblinking, in an attempt to convince each other of their sincerity. (Jimmy Fallon and Jamie Lee Curtis hilariously parodied this dynamic in a cold open for tonight’s show.) There is a tedious segment arguing about the relative meanings of the words “may” and “might.” Another segment examines whether or not Holmes is able to understand the humor behind the classic “Who’s on First” sketch.
Fielder’s deadpan comic style is used to good effect. Any laughs in that first half come from his reaction shots, like his expression when Holmes insists, with wide blue eyes, that he’s never lied in his entire life. And it’s innately fun to watch him appear again and again at the edges of the frame, like an awkwardly shy stalker.
Much has been made of the scene where Evans insists that Fielder film him working out at the gym, including a post-workout shower scene with Evans. fake-indifferently showing lateral-frontal nudity. It’s nothing we haven’t seen before; HBO shows its viewers all the time. Still, I can never unsee Evans’ limp trash, so thanks for searing that image into my retinas, guys. But it fits with the theme of sleight of hand that Fielder and Oppenheimer develop throughout the film. On the one hand, we are seeing literally everything. On the other, it’s just an illusion of transparency, because Evans is relentlessly fidgety and evasive (if not openly combative) in answering Fielder’s questions.
