Entertainment

Filmed in secret for three years: this is the new documentary about Elizabeth Holmes

By
A woman with long blonde hair smiles cheerfully as she looks down at a child who is blurred in the foreground. She is holding something white in her hands, while a man watches in the background in a warmly lit room.

Elizabeth Holmes is now known as a sort of caricature. The young former CEO was previously known for her black turtleneck, deep monotone voice, black eye makeup, and her ambitious plans. Once, she was the ultimate girlboss; she had the image of a female Steve Jobs. With her billion-dollar company Theranos, she was supposed to turn the medical world upside down. Until it turned out that the company was built on lies and she was convicted for fraud. Now, years later, she is back in the spotlight: in a new documentary, the camera gets access to her life, just before she has to go to prison.

What is Elizabeth Holmes’ new documentary about?

The documentary is called You Can See Everything and is directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim for A24. The official announcement came during the Telluride Film Festival in September, where a secret surprise screening was scheduled. A24 is an American film and production company known for its quirky, often somewhat alternative films and series. They have released titles such as Everything Everywhere All at Once, Hereditary, and Uncut Gems. The film was secretly shot for three years, starting about a month before she had to go to prison until now. Holmes invited Fielder to film her life. At that time, she was living with her partner, hotel heir Billy Evans, and their young children. The documentary is intentionally filmed with uncomfortable perspectives and questions. In the trailer, Fielder asks her: “You really feel you did nothing wrong?” Holmes replies: “I did not.” When he then asks where it went wrong, she says she doesn’t know and doesn’t understand it herself. Does Holmes really believe she committed no fraud?

Her life changes completely

In May 2023, Holmes reported to the prison in Bryan. She is serving her shortened sentence there and will be transferred to a halfway house in August 2027. According to the LA Times, the first half of the documentary mainly focuses on Holmes' family and the farewell from her partner and children. She gave birth to her daughter three months before she had to report. In the documentary, we see her as a new mother of two. Once Holmes goes to prison, the focus of the documentary shifts to Evans. He took over her account on X, among other things, and he helps manage her affairs. According to Nathan Fielder, tension arose between Evans and the documentary makers, which ultimately caused communication to break down. Holmes and Evans have not yet seen the final documentary, but Holmes did post messages on X to promote it.

Who is Elizabeth Holmes again?

Elizabeth Holmes was only nineteen when she dropped out of her Chemical Engineering studies at Stanford University in 2003 to found Theranos. Her mission: to perform blood tests with just a few drops of blood. Investors were enthusiastic, and the company raised over $700 million in investments. Holmes became one of the most well-known young entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley, and the blood testing machines were used at the pharmacy chain Walgreens. Forbes named her the youngest self-made female billionaire in 2014. In 2015, whistleblowers revealed in the Wall Street Journal that Theranos' technology did not work as claimed. The company collapsed, and Holmes and her business partner Sunny Balwani ended up in court. In 2022, she was convicted of fraud against investors and received a sentence of over eleven years in prison. That same year, the series The Dropout was released, in which Amanda Seyfried plays Holmes.

With The Dropout, her story already appeared on TV, but with You Can See Everything, Holmes takes matters into her own hands and wants to tell her story herself. The question is how much sincerity we will see, as she has of course been in the spotlight for more than ten years now. Will we really get to know her in this documentary, or is she mainly trying to restore her image?

Image: A24