Amanda Seyfried’s surprise presence in the hybrid documentary "You Can See Everything" has ignited an unconventional awards season conversation. With the project arriving in theaters and tracking toward record commercial success for the documentary format, distributor A24 is moving forward with plans to mount an Academy Award campaign on the actress's behalf, blurring the lines between traditional performance and non-fiction participation.
Directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, the theatrical release features Seyfried in a multi-layered capacity. While she spends substantial screen time appearing naturally as herself, she also re-enacts Fielder’s past interactions with disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes. Seyfried previously won both an Emmy and a Golden Globe for portraying Holmes in the 2022 Hulu miniseries "The Dropout," making this return a complex re-examination of a role that helped define her recent career.
An Unconventional Blend of Documentary and Re-enactment
The structure of "You Can See Everything" places Seyfried in a unique narrative position. Rather than delivering a straightforward biopic performance, she functions as both an actor and a documentary subject alongside Holmes and Holmes' husband, Billy Evans. Audiences spend the opening 90 minutes observing the actual Holmes before seeing Seyfried take on the persona directly, creating a deliberate contrast between reality and interpretation.
Throughout the project, Seyfried is captured working through the complexities of her depiction. Sequences include conversations with Fielder at her farm, where details of her everyday life—such as her dogs, horses, and a playhouse from her company Make It Cute—are openly visible within the frame. The documentary tracks her as she and Fielder observe footage of Holmes herself watching "The Dropout," capturing Seyfried’s genuine reactions and uncertainties in real time.
Grappling With the Ethics of Dramatizing Real Figures
A critical segment of the film involves Seyfried navigating real-world encounters following Holmes’ incarceration. Seyfried travels to visit Evans at his residence, meeting the couple’s two young children and questioning Evans to better comprehend the situation Fielder and Oppenheim had been exploring prior to Holmes entering prison. The encounter also documents an exchange where Seyfried defends a past social media post critiquing the late Charlie Kirk after facing mockery from Evans.
These interactions push Seyfried to openly contemplate the ethical responsibilities of Hollywood dramatizations. Acknowledging that Holmes did not say or do every specific thing shown in "The Dropout," Seyfried wrestles with the fact that audiences often accept dramatized narratives as literal truth. On camera, she attempts to justify the project's creative liberties, noting, "I didn’t do that to her. She did that to herself," before conceding the irresolvable nature of the conflict by concluding, "It’s very complicated."
Awards Prospects and Historical Precedents
A24’s push for Seyfried places the project into rare awards territory. Industry observers have pointed to loose precedents, such as Maria Bakalova’s supporting actress nomination for 2020’s "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm," which similarly saw an actor reacting against real-world subjects. However, Seyfried’s self-referential role—part observational subject, part scripted dramatizer—remains largely without an exact parallel in Oscar history.
Seyfried, who secured an Academy Award nomination in 2020 for "Mank" after taking over "The Dropout" following Kate McKinnon's departure, has largely avoided straightforward commentary on the awards buzz. During red-carpet appearances, including the recent Academy Museum Gala, the actress favored playful, free-associative answers rather than dissecting the project's strategy.
As "You Can See Everything" continues its theatrical run, awards analysts and voters will watch to see whether the Academy’s acting branch embraces Seyfried’s unconventional turn, testing the boundaries of what constitutes an Oscar-eligible performance in contemporary cinema.
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Source: Variety
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