You Can See Everything: This is a new documentary that had a tremendous buzz at TIFF in September. It is directed by and stars Nathan Felder, a Canadian film maker who has worked with Rick Mercer before. It is almost three hours long! Felder plays himself as the interviewer for infamous business fraudster Elizabeth Holmes, who was the CEO of test machine manufacturer Theranos, and heading to jail in May 2023. Holmes along with her husband, Billy and their two young children, have rented a beachfront property in San Diego shortly before her incarceration. They invited Felder and his team to live with them and document their life. It is an unusual move provding so much access to a film crew. Holmes had not provided any media access to herself in years as she was convicted in November 2022 for 11 years and 3 months for her involvement in the fraud. This sentence has since been subsequently reduced, and she will be released around 2030. Felder early on brought forward to Elizabeth that he was uncomfortable in being invited into their house because he is a filmmaker and not someone who can talk and debate the virtues of Elizabeth’s espoused technological transformation; Theranos claimed that many biological tests could be performed on any patient anywhere on one single drop of blood. It couldn’t and the criminal activity was associated with the cover-up of that discovery. The movie doesn’t look to relitigate the result of the trial.

I highly recommend this movie. I do this because it is much more than just documenting the final thirty days before Elizabeth goes to jail. There is plenty of that as we are introduced to her quiet life before prison. Walking the beach, feeding her newly born child and watching the infant. But you also see her interaction, which is very powerful with her husband Billy. Billy has his own things going on. Nathan as interviewer is direct and doesn’t mince words, with some humour (intended and unintended mixed in). Nathan has an easy going relationship with Elizabeth and also Billy, both together and individually. He challenges his subjects with tough questions, and pursues further when they look to wriggle away from a flimsy answer. We meet Elizabeth’s parents. A lot of said with no words at all. Looks, sideways glances and interaction with parents and kids. Nathan’s style is effective. At the same time I cannot help feeling that Nathan channels Booger in looks and attitude from Revenge of the Nerds. He is deadpan with long pauses with his subject to allow them to answer.

What works really well is how this movie takes real people and their very dramatic situation and has it turn in unexpected directions. Dropping Elizabeth off at the Federal Peneteniary in Texas is not the end. The story continues on for a few years, with Elizabeth in prison and with limited access. Early on we learned some curious things about Elizabeth and how (apparently) her mind works, but then in the second half some other aspects emerge. The underlying current is there about potential manipulation. Is the CEO of a company really so literal? Does she really not have any sense of people and their intentions around her? Can she really be using such loose language to address very specific situations in her present as well as in her past? So in the second half, quite indirectly we learn a lot more about Elizabeth. The story is very complex with layer upon layer being revealed. What it shows is that we as the public really only see the surface and that so many other things work through this perplexing, complicated and misunderstood woman. There are plenty of very tight shots. Nathan with acne and a couple days growth on his chin is seen time after time. One would think that they have razors in San Diego, especially when you know that you will be filmed in extremely tight shots. Others involved have chapped lips. It can be a little disconcerting but it works in looking for reactions. Ultimately I am not sharing some of the secrets and things that were most defiinitely a surprise to me. I don’t really know what I was expecting. People who I have told about it have reacted similarly by not wanting to see this amovie about a fraudster woman, who they don’t really like. Seeing this with an open mind in what you will uncover for yourself is very beneficial. I expect that this movie will win the Best Documentary Oscar. It is so much deeper than I had expected and I was glad to see it in a completely packed theatre for a 5:15PM showing. This is worth your time to explore someone who you think that you know, and more fully explore the power of the media and entertainment. Sometimes art can imitate life and other times life can imitate art. One thing is certain that Elizabeth Holmes will be remembered for more than what is pronounced in the final act. Check this out.

East of Eden: This is a new seven-part series on Netflix. It is based on the book by John Steinbeck. I have not ever read the book, nor have seen any prior movies on the topic. So I came into this series with no preconceived ideas about the subject matter, save for the fact that it is regarded as a classic American novel. It stars Florence Pugh, who was also a Producer, along with Christopher Abbott, Mike Faist, Hoon Lee and Tracy Letts. Set in the late 1800s, we follow the Trask family early on with single father Cyrus (played by Letts) with his two boys, Adam and Charles. The Florence Pugh character is introduced in a dramatic way by coming in the middle of the night all battered and bloody with the brothers being either concerned for healing her and her welfare and the other thinking that she should be returned to wherever she came from. She becomes a fixture in the household with brother Adam falling for her.

Things continue and the next generation comes along with some unexpected consequences. It just so happens that there are two more boys and these boys also are growing up with a mother. They have their father, but more importantly a kind and compassionate housekeeper, Lee, played by Hoon Lee, who sees over them and ensures that they get educated and grow and are quality people. The boys grow to be very different. One more scholastic and revered by his father, which would be Aron, and his brother Cal who is more street smart, rough edged and business saavy. Father is well engaged in his own challenges and not really up to facing his fatherly duties. Thank goodness for Lee. Time moves on and the story approaches the beginning of WWI and American involvement in the conflict.

One of the things that this series focuses on is the biblical story of Cain and Abel. I am not religious and the biblical stories go over my head. However some research reveals that Cain and Abel were the sons of Adam and Eve. Cain the first born was a farmer, while Abel was a shepard. God apparently values the offerings of Abel over Cain, to which Cain takes exception and kills his brother. So in effect the first murder in human history. There is plenty in the story with the Trask family which is reflected in the Bible.

Another aspect for me that was troubling is that the Pugh character is diabolical, verging on evil. She had a very difficult upbringing, and one has to remember the times (late 1800s) and what was available to women. However even with such limitations, the actions of Pugh’s Cathy or Kate are dark. Time and again she seems to make choices which show that she has all but removed any empathy for others, especially men who she regards with disgust. She is the focus in many ways where the lives of those around her revolve. Pugh is a good actress, and this is a meaty part. Not all parts are meant to be likeable, and she embodies it. This is Season 1, so there are more seasons to come. I did find this slow, and the rest of the acting was competent. But it is plenty of time to invest for a story that is dark and somewhat depressing. In both sets of boys there is conflict, disagreement and separation. There are also plenty of uncomfortable parallels in the lives of these boys and their actions. In the end I can’t say that I look forward to another season of this series. Should you watch it, I expect that you would see why this might be the case. In any event, I cannot recommend this.