“Are you ready to make television history?”
“Primetime,” a satirical, thriller-like film following the filming of the hit 2000s show “To Catch a Predator,” with Robert Pattinson playing the lead of host Chris Hansen hit theaters on Sept. 25.
Using manipulation and sting operations, the crew of “To Catch a Predator” would lure a potential child molester to a house, where cameras awaited. Hansen would emerge, to the embarrassment of the potential predator, humiliating them on camera before being taken by police.
While the movie is based on real life events, it tells them in a dramatized and sometimes fictionalized way, creating a mythic version of Hansen instead. I think this decision turns the movie from a biopic into a surreal experience.
According to Hansen, he was never involved with the production of the movie, and left an early screening due to being confronted with an NDA.
After hearing about how the movie was made, I think “Primetime” isn’t solely a factual movie based upon Hansen’s show. Rather, it uses “To Catch a Predator” as a tool to tell a story about media, entertainment and moral ambiguity.
The film blurs the line between investigative journalism and broadcast entertainment. As a journalism major, I really enjoyed watching the film because of the ethical debate that came along with it. Each character gets swept away by what the show brings them, whether that be success or recognition.
In this movie, Hansen believes he is ridding the world of evil by uncovering predators, yet chases higher ratings and more exciting prospects to keep the show’s primetime spot.
Pattinson’s uncanny performance as Hansen added to the unease and tension of the subject matter. His portrayal of Hansen being eccentric and strange brought a dramatic flair. I did leave the theater a little sick to my stomach thinking, “What did I just watch?”
A standout in the movie to me, both narratively and performance wise, was Skyler Gisondo as Dan Plum, or “Decoy Dan.” His innocence to the show at the beginning of the movie perfectly contrasts to Hansen’s obsession with it.
But at the end of the movie, we see Plum’s transformation to a character who seems deeply affected by what he became a part of, during the haunting shots of the final climactic sting operation.
Outside of the plot, the movie and score are notable to mention as well. I enjoyed the incorporation of different types of cameras, as well as the color grading. The music made every scene feel intense, which sometimes felt overdramatic.
There is a lot of discourse about the movie, including a response from Hansen himself. It seems to have taken the internet by storm, to say the least, with a lot of discussion about how the movie portrays its characters and message.
At certain points, the film did feel difficult to watch because of the subject matter and ways characters were depicted.
Whatever you thought of “Primetime,” it definitely opened up important discussions surrounding media, entertainment and an audience’s perception of good and evil.