Originally I had this film at 3,1/2 stars but I increased it to 4. My problems with the documentary are mostly about Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes herself. I am not going to call her Liz because that isn't her name.
The only reason that the doc was created was to build sympathy so she could have a new scam. There is shockingly little push back on her outright lies about Theranos and the ability of the machine (I mean, they were literally printing results at some point). Nathan Fielder stares at her blankly and makes some comments about how confusing it is, but her lies aren't really challenged. It's not confusing, she is just wrong. Granted, this documentary is a deep-dive into the simulacrum and truth in media and I lack the skills to dissect that.
I made a lot of jokes about this being a 1v1 psychopath showdown for who will control the narrative. I think Elizabeth Holmes ultimately won. Nathan Fielder couldn't resist the same story beats he prefers and ended up fostering a more emotional relationship than he intended. That emotion is what Blood Scammer Elizabeth feeds off of. That emotion is why patient harm was so downplayed in the film.
This isn't a complete victory for silicon valley liars. Nathan and Lance do a fantastic job of making everybody look insane. Billy is a nutjob, Elizabeth is a nutjob, her parents are off their rockers. It is seriously a wonder how these people manage through daily life when nearly every conversation is a twitching, confusing, mangled mess. When Nathan shows the couple Who's On First? it's comically ironic the way they start talking over each other and confusing each other only seconds after it ends.
The camera work is incredible. It's tight, uncomfortable, and has an eerily similar colour palette to Primetime. Every single pore of every single face is highlighted. You can watch their eyes twitch as they dodge questions or as their lips curl into a genuine smile. It's all treated with the same choking realness.
The inclusion of Amanda Seyfried is iconic. She is hilarious and insightful. The dinner scene with her and Billy had the whole theatre in a riot. Her recreations were uncanny. My favourite moment, of her and the whole film, was when Amanda criticises how manipulative Elizabeth Holmes is. She's flipping through the script, talking about the proven-in-court evidence of her wrong doing. Then, Amanda playing as Elizabeth responds. She dodges and denies and even though you know Amanda Seyfried doesn't believe her, you start to wonder if you had it all wrong.
I really liked the ending. I didn't know what to think and I still don't. This is a fantastic documentary.
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