Film | Movies | Arts & Culture | You Can See Everything | Nathan Fielder
Nathan Fielder’s A24 hit continues to sell out New Haven-area screenings
The hottest reservation in the New Haven area lately is not an exclusive new restaurant or highly anticipated concert: It’s a movie ticket to You Can See Everything, from comedian Nathan Fielder, in collaboration with the director Lance Oppenheim and the movie studio A24.
The documentary, which follows disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes in the 34 days leading up to her prison sentence for defrauding investors, has become a surprise hit and garnered Oscar buzz for its unique style and storytelling structure. Its also continues to sell out showtimes at New Haven’s two closest theaters, the Cinemarks in North Haven and Milford, nearly three weeks out from its original release.
Nationwide, Everything has become so popular that it broke a 20-year-old box office record in its first weekend, becoming the first movie since Borat (2006) to claim the number one spot at the box office while being in fewer than 1,000 theaters.
If you’re looking to join in and catch the film that seems to be on everyone’s list, you’ll have to do some planning ahead. Weeks out from its original release, many local theaters are almost completely full or sold out (save for a couple of undesirable seats right up front). Even showtimes for a sleepy Monday night in both the North Haven and Milford Cinemark theater chains barely had any available seats—despite there being seven showings that day.
“Movies that are promoted on social media seem to sell out more, but I haven’t really seen that one online. But it seems like [Everything]’s doing really well,” said Valeria, who works for the nearby Cinemark North Haven and XD movie theater. “I worked the box office last weekend and a lot of people came for that movie… It was one of the only ones that actually sold out.”
Talking with local New Haven residents, it’s clear that the excitement for Everything is palpable. “I’m a huge fan of Nathan Fielder, I loved [Fielder’s HBO series] The Rehearsal and I generally love A24, so it was never really a question whether or not I would see it in theaters,” said Mitch Marcinauskis, a 27-year-old resident of East Rock. Marcinauskis, who was somewhat familiar with Holmes’ case prior to the screening, added that the expectations he went into the movie with were shattered: “By the end of it, I was completely spent. I expected a movie about Elizabeth Holmes and why did she do these things, and left thinking about, ‘What is a lie? What is truth?’”
Fielder’s involvement with the project seemed to be the draw with other local viewers. “I went for Nathan,” said Nolan Callahan, an East Rock resident. “I rewatched a bunch of his stuff in prep.”
In discussing the film, viewers did mention a desire for more local showings, and expressed a yearning for the days of a local New Haven movie theater (the city’s only remaining movie theater, the Bow Tie Criterion Cinemas, closed in 2023). Callahan enjoyed his screening at the Milford Cinemark, but he did mention having had “better experiences” at independently-owned theaters: “It would have been nice to see it [at the Criterion], but at the same time, there was no way I wasn’t going to see this.”
Another East Rock resident, Alana Ceppetelli, agreed. “I probably won’t see it until it comes out on DVD. It is a little bit of a deterrent having to get in a car and drive somewhere, versus being able to walk, bike or take a quick bus downtown.”
Fredrik Dean, a 30-year-old resident of Westville, remarked that the film felt especially relevant to New Haven theatergoers. “In terms of the demographics of the area, it makes sense… we’re kind of the center of intelligentsia in America.” Dean also had lots to say about the content of the film, noting that the documentary made him ask bigger questions than one might think, and complimented its pacing. “I thought the tension of the whole film was really well fleshed out. It was very much a zeitgeist movie of ‘Who’s the good guy? Who’s the bad guy?’”
As for those questions, You Can See Everything isn’t very interested in answering them. The film is much more interested in starting the conversation—one that New Haven movie lovers all over the city are more than eager to have. Hopefully they can find an available seat!