Amanda Seyfried played Elizabeth Holmes in The Dropout, and, somewhat inexplicably, she’s returned to the role for Nathan Fielder’s documentary You Can See Everything. And now there’s the question of whether the actress could be eligible for an acting award for her performance. Not something you typically see from a documentary, but it could happen.
Parts of You Can See Everything include dramatized reenactments of encounters that could not be filmed, and that’s where Seyfried came in.
According to THR, the major awards groups have made their choices. Seyfried has been deemed eligible for a best supporting actress nomination by the Critics Choice Awards, but the Golden Globes, BAFTA, and Actor Awards have decided she’s ineligible.
There’s a path for A24, the studio behind You Can See Everything, to appeal, but insiders told the outlet that won’t be happening. Instead, they’re focused on getting an Oscar nomination.
The report states that there’s no reason to believe Seyfried won’t be turned down, but the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences won’t release its official determinations until December.
Seyfried told THR that she sees her work in the film as a performance. “Yeah, I do,” she said. “The reenactments were definitely a challenge. But it’s not like I ever considered that I would be up for any kind of accolade. I understand the politics and the luck and the timing of awards stuff. I don’t really know if we can fully consider it a doc — it’s very genre-bending. I have seen a lot of documentaries, but not enough to know if they’ve ever done anything like this. I know people have said they have never seen anything like it.“
She continued, “A campaign is a lot. It’s time-consuming. It takes all your energy. And I’m totally willing to do it. A24 is great. They’re excited, and I’m very proud of the film, so I’m fully ready to engage in that. And I love these filmmakers! I had a great time with this tiny crew. And I think because [the experience] is so rare, and it will never happen again, I’m doubled-down on it… And so now that they’re going to let me loose and show up, I’m down!“
Our own Chris Bumbray was blown away by You Can See Everything.
“You Can See Everything strikes me as a monumental achievement—not only as a film but also as a way of pushing the documentary form forward,” he wrote. “It’s utterly compelling, and the definitive depiction of a story that’s already been told to death through documentaries, a TV series (The Dropout), and tons of articles and books. It’s a movie that wrestles with an enigma while refusing to tell us what to think or feel. It answers questions with other questions and will likely become one of the most talked-about films of the year.” You can check out the rest of his review right here.