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Seyfried Faces Backlash for Role in Holmes Documentary
· Confirmed
In Short: Amanda Seyfried's behavior in the Elizabeth Holmes documentary 'You Can See Everything' has drawn harsh criticism from viewers.
Amanda Seyfried faced harsh criticism from viewers for her role in 'You Can See Everything,' a documentary that followed Elizabeth Holmes in the last 34 days before she began serving her 11-year prison sentence.
The film, directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, premiered at the Telluride Film Festival and earned rave reviews, with a near-perfect 99% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
According to A24, roughly 70% of viewers were younger than 35 and turnout was almost evenly split by gender.
The documentary, which had been projected to earn $7 million to $8 million, broke box office records with a staggering $15 million debut from around 850 screens across the U.S.
In the film, Seyfried appears alongside Fielder, exploring Holmes' personal life and relationship with Billy Evans, her partner.
Holmes, who was living in an estate listed at $125 million during her trial, reported to Federal Prison Camp Bryan on May 30, 2023.
Viewers criticized Seyfried for her initial support of Holmes, noting that she immediately deflected and accused Fielder of covering up for Holmes when she was accused of causing her pain.
One user commented, 'Lots of 'women protecting women' posturing from her until she gets accused of perhaps also causing Elizabeth some degree of pain, after which she immediately deflects and starts engaging in female emotional manipulation by accusing Nathan of covering up for Elizabeth based on her intuition.'
The documentary also includes a scene where Holmes pretends not to understand the classic bit 'who’s on first,' showing her reluctance to admit any wrongdoing.
Fielder and Oppenheim followed Holmes, Evans, and their two small children in the weeks before Holmes reported to prison, capturing a rare glimpse into Holmes' private life.
The film's success is attributed to its viral marketing campaign and glowing reviews, with more than 2,000 sellout showings over the weekend.
Holmes, once heralded as a self-made billionaire and founder of Theranos, was convicted of defrauding investors and sentenced to 11 years in prison.
What this adds
The documentary explores Seyfried's evolving perspective on Holmes, including her reactions to Holmes' personal life and relationship with Billy Evans.
Holmes tells Fielder she has never watched the series 'The Dropout,' in which Seyfried portrayed her.
The documentary's critical acclaim and box office success are attributed to its unique approach and the public's fascination with Holmes' story.
Background
Amanda Seyfried faced harsh criticism from viewers for her behavior in 'You Can See Everything,' a documentary that followed Elizabeth Holmes in the last 34 days before she began serving her 11-year prison sentence.
Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim's documentary, "You Can See Everything," explores the mind of Elizabeth Holmes, the convicted fraudster and former Theranos CEO.
What's confirmed
- Seyfried surprised viewers when she appeared alongside Nathan Fielder in "You Can See Everything," a documentary that followed Holmes in the last 34 days leading up to the start of her prison sentence.
- Holmes reported to Federal Prison Camp Bryan on May 30, 2023.
- First came the laptop harness from “The Rehearsal.” Now it’s a pair of $8 headphones from “ You Can See Everything.” Once again, Nathan Fielder has become an unlikely source of affordable Halloween costume inspiration, this time courtesy of his buzzy Elizabeth Holmes documentary.
What's still developing
- For instance, when Holmes tells Fielder she never lies — never has lied in her life — he is skeptical, but he responds by asking her about things like white lies.
- The other 90 minutes are far more experimental, as the story picks up two years later without Holmes available to film.
- The new documentary about Elizabeth Holmes and her partner Billy Evans takes a series of twists that have to be seen to be believed Elizabeth Holmes is offering a rare look inside her private life in a new documentary that takes a series of increasingly bizarre and unexpected turns.
- In 2019 a Guardian article succinctly captured a few other reasons behind the public's apparently endless interest in her, calling Holmes's story "a true crime saga with a dash of Fyre Fest-schadenfreude and the added bonus of an icy blonde with a mysteriously deep voice".
- Warning: This article contains mild spoilers for You Can See Everything In 2014 Holmes was heralded as a self-made billionaire and founder of Theranos, a health technology company that claimed to have an invented a device that could diagnose illnesses with a single pinprick of blood.
- The documentary begins shortly before Holmes was due to report to federal prison following her conviction for fraud-related charges connected to Theranos.
- However, the lack of information surrounding this project meant that even many festival attendees had no idea they were about to watch a documentary centered on one of the most controversial figures in modern Silicon Valley history.
- Set us as preferred Aaron Sorkin’s “The Social Reckoning,” a sequel to 2010’s David Fincher-directed “The Social Network,” is hitting theaters as part of a surge of tech geek takedowns that includes documentaries on Elon Musk and Theranos’ Elizabeth Holmes, as well as Luca Guadagnino’s upcoming comedy “Artificial” about OpenAI’s Sam Altman.
- "At no point in the movie does Elizabeth Holmes reckon with how anyone other than her was harmed by the downfall of Theranos. Amanda Seyfried earnestly reckons with the consequences of her actions even when she is (correctly) pretty sure she didn't do anything wrong."
- "Amanda Seyfried defending Holmes as a victim of male manipulation until Holmes accused her of participating in a sensationalized version of the Theranos scandal and then flipping out about how it is just TV was a [sic] truly gross," one X user wrote.
- You Can See Everything is galvanising as it puts viewers in just that position.
- "I wouldn't think I'd be the person you'd want," he said at the premiere.