After one of A24’s larger openings, Lance Oppenheim’s Primetime has been out for nearly two weeks now. Long story short, the film is amazing, and the online discourse surrounding it is infuriating.
The film follows the history of To Catch A Predator‘s production, and centers on its host, Chris Hansen, played by The Lighthouse and Good Time star Robert Pattinson. It delves deep into the mind of Hansen and the rest of the crew, highlighting just what this show did to the people involved.
The film was in the middle of considerable controversy after Chris Hansen himself said he was not involved in the film’s production, and refused to endorse it in any way. Upon release, the reception has been incredibly split, and many have been throwing around the idea that the film “takes the side” of the predators involved.
To be abundantly clear: it does not. It’s honestly not that complicated.
In terms of the events covered, it picks up right before the show gets moved to, well, primetime. The events covered are events that actually happened, although it’s a somewhat exaggerated recounting of the story.
A film diving deep into the psyches of this collection of people is only as good as its performances, and everyone delivers. Pattinson gives what is, in my opinion, the single best performance of his career. He effortlessly transforms into Hansen, perfectly capturing his voice, mannerisms, and physical traits, to the point where you forget it’s even Pattinson. If he doesn’t get this Oscar, we riot.
That’s not to say the rest of cast is lacking, though. Skyler Gisondo plays Dan Plumb, one of the decoys for the show, and he does a great job capturing the mental toll this would have on a person. Merritt Wever was a surprise standout, providing a foil to show how the insane environment of the show can negatively impact lives on the career side of those behind it.
Visually, the film is stellar. It has that mid-2000s grain and noise from TVs of the time, and it fully grounds you in the setting. The editing was the best part of the film, aside from Pattinson’s performance. It’s frantic and striking, perfectly matching the production of the show it’s covering.
Overall, the film is incredibly well put together, and I highly recommend watching it while it’s still in theatres. That’s not a viewpoint everyone shares though, and leads into the online discourse around the film that makes me want to rip my hair out.
The contention comes from the fact that Hansen isn’t portrayed to be all good, and that by doing so, the movie is villainizing him and saying that taking down predators is the wrong thing to do. Because of the work he does, he’s a saint who can do no wrong in the world.
How someone reaches that conclusion is beyond me.
The best thing I can say here is simply this: two things can be true. Taking down predators and ensuring they can never get away with their crimes again is obviously the correct thing to do, and Primetime does not sugarcoat that. The work he’s doing in taking them down is ultimately a good thing, and is portrayed as such.
At the same time, however, Hansen is far from a saint. This is a man who cheated on his wife, lies constantly to nearly everyone around him, and often threw the considerations and feelings of everyone around him to the side in order to chase bigger stories and achieve widespread recognition and fame.
When the film doesn’t shy away from these things, it’s no surprise that Hansen wasn’t exactly enthused by it. Hell, around the same time the movie came out, Hansen interviewed notorious predator and former YouTuber EDP445, in what many believed to be a publicity stunt. Hansen gave him a platform to say he regretted none of his actions.
Doing good actions does not make you a good person, and Primetime does not shy away from that. It shows that, when not doing good for the right reasons, it can come to harm innocent people around you.
On platforms such as Instagram, you’re either all in on something, or all out. Primetime is a film that demands levels of, frankly, basic nuance that modern social media discourse simply cannot provide.
Rating: 9/10