I truly had no idea what to expect from a movie like Primetime.
I mean, a film about a real-life hunter of sexual predators and the controversial TV show that cemented his fame, written and directed by a documentarian, starring fucking Batman? It’s a bit of a shit-at-the-wall grab-bag of factors, and, when it comes to films like this, they can either work masterfully – or flop entirely.
And Lance Oppenheim ‘s Primetime, for me, lands firmly – and somewhat miraculously – in the former. Primetime is a (very) loose adaptation of the events surrounding the rise of the TV series To Catch a Predator in the mid-2000s, following presenter Chris Hansen (Robert Pattinson) as he seeks greater heights for the show.
Oppenheimen takes an unexpectedly and entirely welcome slant approach to the story of To Catch a Predator, one that blends the disparate factors into one very watchable whole; what starts as a classic industry drama turns into something far more unsettling, edging into straight-up horror territory by the third act. Oppenheimer employs the cinematic language of a wide expanse of genres in a way that never quite lets you get settled, a perfect fit for a film as deliberately discomforting as this one.
But, at the end of the day, Primetime has always been a movie about one thing – and that was Robert Pattinson’s performance as Hansen, which has been the focal point of hype around this movie since the moment it made its way into the public eye.
Pattinson is having a bit of a moment pop culturally right now, between The Odyssey, The Drama, the upcoming third Dune movie, and his continued involvement in the Batman series – and make no mistake, this movie features what is probably one of his all-time best. It’s a full-throated turn, one that swims between dark comedy, drama, thriller, and even outright horror at times; he’s a constantly commanding presence on-screen in what’s destined to be the performance to beat come awards season. It’s such a profoundly odd take on the character that could so easily have slipped into parody, but Pattinson just hangs on to it to keep things on the right side of compelling. With that said, I do wonder if these kind of big, highly-mannered performances are going to become a bit tiresome sooner rather than later, given the amount of them we’ve already seen from him and the several we still have to come – but right now, at least, it still works for me.
Despite Pattinson’s dominating presence, my favourite performances probably come in the form of the supporting cast – most notably, Merritt Wever as Andie, Hansen’s producer, and Skyler Gisondo as Dan, an aspiring actor who ends up playing the part of the decoy child to lure in predators. Wever is pretty much one of the best actors to ever do it, as far as I’m concerned, and she brings a distinct weight to the standard slimy producer role you’d expect from a piece like this. Gisondo, however, finds a real vulnerability in the role that slowly morphs into something more sharp-elbowed. They’re both people caught in Hansen’s slipstream here, both reliant on and resentful of him, and the tension plays out in fascinating ways as the movie moves towards its climax.
Primetime is an exceptionally weird film, one that bucks traditional genre in search of something as slippery and unsettling as its central character – and a compelling performance from Pattinson along with an excellent supporting cast is more than enough to land it firmly in water cooler territory.
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By Lou MacGregor
(header image via Flicks)
