You Don't See Very Much

"You Can See Everything" - ⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I really wanted to champion this film as I did with "Digger" earlier this month, as well as "One Battle After Another" and "Sinners" last year. But I just can't.

Frontloading my praise for the documentary (about the 34 days prior to Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes commencing her 123 month prison sentence for conspiracy to defraud investors and wire fraud): it is constructed as an edge-of-your-seat interrogation of shades of truth and psychological performance. Documentarians Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim deploy skillful technical and artistic storytelling devices throughout - which themselves keep the viewer engaged and peering around every corner of the frame, looking for answers.

But unfortunately, the 174 minute running time is punishing to the point of feeling like audience abuse. It teases at revelations that never come. The plot development is so minor as to leave one wondering if it was missed entirely. A cursory viewing of the first hour tells us almost everything we ultimately conclude by the end of the third hour. And when the film devolves into being about itself and how it is made, there's only a passing and superficial examination of documentary film ethics on offer. Much like Theranos and its promised miracle machine, there is no payoff here worthy of the investment.

YCSE is no "Catfish" or "Tickled" or "Exit Through the Gift Shop" or "Capturing the Friedmans" - all documentaries with genuine twists and turns. Instead, YCSE wallows in the delusions of one woman with extreme closeups and Fielder's prolonged examinations as to whether we believe her... or whether she believes herself. No interviews with legal experts or medical device engineers. Nothing like a sobering fact-check to actually equip the audience with more information to reach an enlightened conclusion. And no fitting comeuppance for the incredibly controlling and narcissistic husband serving as the film's chief villain.

This documentary has clearly riveted critics; it will almost certainly win many awards and be nominated for countless more. While I can only give my candid assessment as a filmmaker and avid cineaste, I maintain that a sharper, more focused 60 minute version of this film streamed online is a more fitting place for the material than a 174 minute theatrical release. "I will never get those three hours back" is what I grumbled as I walked out after the end credits.