Who is Elizabeth Holmes, fallen star of Silicon Valley and documentary phenomenon in the United States?

The story is not new, and yet it still fascinates Americans. The story of the fall of Elizabeth Holmes, known for having founded the start-up Theranos which promised to revolutionize blood tests and which turned out to be a scam, finds new life with You Can See Everything.

The three-hour documentary delves into the privacy of the former rising star of Silicon Valley, alongside her entrepreneur spouse, Billy Evans, and their two children, around thirty days before her incarceration for fraud in 2023. Released on October 16 in the United States (and announced in December in France), the film by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim became a hit at the box office and above all a cultural phenomenon.

Cult scenes

It is difficult across the Atlantic to miss the memes, lookalike competitions or sketches in American shows inspired by the former tech boss, and the other central figure of the feature film Nathan Fielder. The narrator, interviewer and co-director, invited by Elizabeth Holmes to live with her, regularly confronts the entrepreneur in numerous close-up sequences.

One scene from the documentary mainly caught the attention: we see Elizabeth Holmes, wide-eyed, staring at an embarrassed Nathan Fielder, and saying: "Of course I'm not lying to you. I'm talking to you like a human being. Why would I lie to you? I have no reason to."

A cult moment which sums up the ambiguity of the film where we wonder if Elizabeth Holmes is lying or if she is truly convinced of being innocent, despite the overwhelming evidence. A mystery regarding his personality, already raised at the start of the case and dissected in numerous contents. It was never really cleared up.

Presented as "the new Steve Jobs"

Barely 19 years old in 2003, Elizabeth Holmes claims to be able to revolutionize the world of health and particularly that of blood tests. His company Theranos could carry out several hundred different analyzes with a single drop of blood. A beautiful story from a young woman who explains that she was afraid of needles when she was a child.

The statement appeals to investors. The project obtains the financial support of renowned personalities such as Rupert Murdoch and Henri Kissinger. This allows the startup to be valued at $9 billion, making Elizabeth Holmes rich as a major shareholder. Seen as the “next Steve Jobs”, she is on the cover of several magazines including Forbes. She even appears in the ranking of the 100 most influential people in the world by The Times.

But the fairy tale ended in 2015 when the Wall Street Journal and the US Department of Health cast doubt on the possibilities put forward by Theranos. "That's what happens when you work to change things. First, they think you're crazy, then they fight you until they change the world," the young billionaire said at the time. She will finally be sentenced in 2022 to eleven years in prison for having defrauded and cheated investors.

You Can See Everything brings an exclusive look at this story. The film navigates between reality TV, cinema verite and fiction, and offers a point of view on the words of a personality who we know has lied but who does everything possible to convince otherwise. The viewer is led to review his judgment throughout the film. Everyone is scratched in this meta-documentary, from Elizabeth Holmes' husband to the directors themselves and the A24 production company. The main favorite in the Oscar race in its category, the film is released on December 30 in France.