It was a fairly small moment, but I think such an interesting one in retrospect. Billy by this point was already pretty clearly a weirdo and controlling, but the fear/trembling of Elizabeth's Dad in front Billy was so interesting to watch. So was the Dad's bluntness about a lot of it - him pegging Liz's issues at starting out from her being raped (somethign I don't know if I knew), and of course the strange parallels to Billy being controlling and what we know of Sunny Balwani (or at least what Liz wants us to know). I do wish we got a bit more time with teh Dad, or the parents as a whole. There was more to mine there.
9.) The Eggs Scene
Similarly the scene of teh eggs, and Billy taking it over - ostensibly to let Liz focus on answering teh questions fully, but also because he is controlling and seems himself as someone who can whisk eggs better. This was as a revealing scene as any in the entire picture - mainly because of Elizabeth's reaction. Her trying to make Billy look better in that scene is a keen move, something far more observant and normal of Elizabeth than the simple dunce who was taken advantage of that she likes to portray. Put me in the camp squarely that all of this is a ruse by Elizabeth - that she is in on everything, and this small moment shows a bit of that. She knows how things are being perceived, and this little moments of taht reality escaping the fake facade are so interesting to watch.
8.) The Ongoing Weirdness of Why This is Happening
So, after doing some research, it seems clear that this was just one of the great coincidences of all time, in that Nathan Fielder believed Elizabeth Holmes to be an interesting subject to explore at teh same time Elizabeth and Billy were looking to shop their story. Still, it is just so bizarre that (a) they would allow Nathan to do this without seemingly doing a ton of research on who Nathan is (in that he will go deep, deep, deep into things), and maybe more importantly (b) how much access they would give him in those days leading up to her incarceration. From having him be there in taht backyard scene the day of (where he lovably suggests that he should excuse himself so they can have sex for the last time), to their awkward scene before she gets into the van. Add to that the weirdness around why no one else that was around Elizabeth in those days (e.g. news cameras at the prison) chose to ask the question to the world of "why is Nathan Fielder here?" Anyawy, just crazy any of this happened in teh first place.
7.) Elizabeth's Staring Contests
Obviously, Nathan is the king of awkward scenes. That was a good 30% of the fun of Nathan For You, and an even higher percentage of the fun of The Rehearsal. It is nearly impossible to get him to break and to admit teh awkwardness. Well, truly he met his match in Elizabeth (and to some degree, in Billy as well). It is insane how long she can keep those bug-eyes focused without blinking, with that wry smile on her fa Jzce, with those red cheeks. That view will haunt my dreams. Elizabeth was a striking, notable presence in teh old turtleneck, Steve Jobs cos-play days, and even more so now. Those moments were awkward, but that is the point - try to read behind what that stare, that glare, that vapid focus means. You can see it, but can you really?
6.) Seeing Amanda Seyfried
Look, I was spoiled on Seyfried being in the movie. I am also a huge, huge fan of The Dropout - naming it my #2 show of 2022. It was a phenomenon, and damn was it good to see her play that character again, but also so amazingly weird and captivating to watch her watch Elizabeth watch her perform the original character. There has been a lot of online hand-wringing of Seyfried trying to come to terms if she did anything wrong - and I found that fascinating but also more humanizing than revealing any actual issue with Seyfried's 2022 performance. The last bit I would love to know is all the moments in teh film where Seyfried is not acting as Holmes, was she acting in any capacity (e.g. some scripted lines or ideas) or was that all natural. I would love to think Seyfried is that inquisitive, cool and real in real life - she was honestly to me the star of the whole thing (other than Billy, in a very different way).
5.) The Weird Crypto Billboard Guy
The side story of Holmes Billboards showing up in major cities using the photo that she proclaims she hates of herself, was a small bit to show again how weird, controlling and hollow Billy was - and certainly it did all of that. But damn couldn't we have gotten more backstory into the grifter crypto-scammer guy who seems to be putting on dramatic re-enactments in strip clubs (or as Billy would call it "a club that has strippers"). This whole thing was right out of Tiger King (in teh best way), or the weirdest elements of Nathan's past work. Some shine was given to it but man I wanted more of an expose on what the hell all of that was about.
4.) Who's On First
First off, something I hate to admit, but I had never seen the actual clip of Who's On First before that - so that itself was thrilling. I knew the routine and the joke (certainly more than Elizabeth...) but never the actual clip. Secondly, I do think that him watching the clip was the closest we would come to seeing a real Nathan in the movie (that or his "no you don't" reaction to Billy). But in the end, the whole thing was brilliant. If you are on the side of Elizabeth being someone on teh spectrum and someone who was largely taken advantage of, man did her realizing the clip is funny but not being able to explain the joke made your day. That said, if you live on earth and realize she is fraud upon frauds, you realize this is someone who in the span of a couple seconds realized she needed to pretend not to know what makes it funny. Watching the actaul scene - we see her laugh, we see her get it (same with Nathan). That little dichotomy arguably was the most interesting moment of the whole thing.
3.) The First Re-Enactment
This was the one with Nathan, Lance and the A24 execs (I assume actors?) going to the house Billy and Liz were staying in, where Liz reads her awful memoir, and Billy then hustles them for a cut of the profits. The scene itself is great in that it uncovers such a key element of the whole second half of the doc ("Did Liz know about the deal?") but also because the re-enactment took teeh best part of Nathan's famed re-enactments in The Rehearsal. The best being the actor who played Billy looking and somewhat acting nothing like him, but still so striking. Same with the kids, same with the nervous laughs of the execs. That whole scene was just so well done in a perfect Nathan Fielder way, taking the whole idea of a re-enactment and highlighting everything ridiculous about the idea itself. Also, damn if Seyfried doesn't so easily slip back into that role.
2.) Billy and Liz Being Good Parents
This is not a novel thought, but seems to be one of the few areas of consensus that are positive for our friends Billy and Liz - that they seem to be really good parents, adn if anything further very supportive of each other. Yes, they are both likely psycopaths and much more, but they support each other, and they support the kids. Yes, it was a bit heartbreaking to see these two very young children have to say goodbye to their Mom to go to prison, but let's remember the fact the kids were in teh documentary had to be explicitly agreed by Billy and Liz, and secondly while of course the nightly routine of chatting with Mommy in prison is not normal, that is their normal. Billy also seems like a really committed parent, effectively largely single parenting for 11 years. At the end of the day, Liz can be a monster who defrauded the world, and Billy can be as complicit as seemingly wanted to start Theranos 2.0 with as little idea of what the hell he is building as Liz did the first time, but behind all of that is this weird family unit taht works quite well together.
1.) The Dinner Scene with Billy
I could honestly write a whole 5-10 part piece on just this scene, wich may be the greatest piece of filmed content in years. In fact, let's do that.... off we go to Part 2, the deep dive on the Dinner Scene.
