Fielder and Oppenheim’s breakthrough documentary on Elizabeth Holmes having an unimaginable impact
The new documentary You Can See Everything, directed by Lance Oppenheim and Nathan Fielder, follows convicted fraudster and former CEO of Theranos, Elizabeth Holmes, in the thirty days before she is sent to prison.
In theory, You Can See Everything should have simply joined the many iterations exploring the life and career of Holmes, such as the miniseries The Dropout starring Amanda Seyfried. In reality, audience and critic reactions are proving that it has completely upended how people have typically approached and understood documentaries. The culmination of the distinct and varied directorial styles of both Fielder and Oppenheim contributed to this phenomenon.
Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim both have had experience with directing documentaries prior to You Can See Everything, albeit with different styles and approaches. Fielder had created a variety of work that often crossed genres and boundaries, such as an absurdist sketch comedy YouTube show titled Even the Best, and Nathan For You, a comedic documentary. Oppenheim, in contrast, had created documentaries with a dramatic and fantastical flair, such as Spermworld, which is about sperm donors’ lives. He had his first feature film directorial debut this year with Primetime, starring Robert Pattinson.
After it garnered a lot of buzz and anticipation following a surprise screening at the Telluride Film Festival in September 2026, You Can See Everything became the second highest-grossing documentary to ever open at the United States box office, earning US$15 million domestically. The documentary had an incredibly successful second weekend at the box office as well, gaining an additional US$20 million dollars and securing the #2 spot of the week.
The buzz has continued to grow, becoming one of the highest-rated movies of the year with critics. With a debut rating of 99 per cent, it now sits at a 97 per cent on Metacritic. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 98 per cent rating. Interestingly, it currently sits at a 9.3 on IMDb. This is telling of the sheer force this movie currently has, because when placed alongside all the movies on the site, it is IMDb’s second-highest-rated movie. It sits above The Godfather (9.2) and just behind The Shawshank Redemption (9.4).
It is not just critics who are enjoying the documentary: audiences are lauding it as well. At the time of writing, it sits at a 4.6/5 on Letterboxd, a popular film reviewing website for movie-goers. When it debuted, it had a 4.7, which is the highest rating any movie has ever held. You Can See Everything now joins other films such as 12 Angry Men and Come and See at 4.6 on the site. For a single day, the film reached a 4.8, a feat no other movie has ever accomplished.
As a result, conversations have been prevalent online. Many have been applauding its intersection of genres and its unsuspecting and surprising nature. Brian Rowe of the YouTube channel “The Awards Contender” labelled it a ‘masterpiece,’ and Sean Fennessey on Letterboxd called it the “Movie of the year, in several ways.” Steven on Rotten Tomatoes stated they “genuinely kept questioning everything throughout the whole 3 hours.”
All of this praise has inevitably brought You Can See Everything into awards conversation. At the time of writing, it currently sits at #8 on Gold Derby (an awards pundit website) for a Best Picture nomination at the 2027 Oscars, on an upward trend of 35 per cent. This indicates that its position will likely rise in the days to come. If it secures a Best Picture nomination next year, it will be the first documentary to ever do so in the Academy’s 99-year history. It is also aiming for other nominations, such as best documentary feature, best editing, and – surprisingly enough – best supporting actress.
Despite all the discussion and praise the film has garnered, what actually happens in You Can See Everything has remained pretty quiet online. Because of the adamant effort to prevent spoilers, the only way to truly see everything is to watch this movie for yourself.