Primetime

Pattinson cracks him wide open. He twists, bends and crumples in Hansen’s skin, embodying the moral tensions as his show crosses a line and begins to dictate what law enforcement should be doing.

Primetime eventually careens toward disaster (drawn from the real-life incident that ended the show’s run), but any viewer can see that coming. More fascinating to behold is Hansen’s delight as he gets closer and closer to that grand catastrophe.

While “Primetime” works better as a disturbing character study than conventional narrative, it lets Pattinson immerse himself in the visual insanity.

In sharp contrast to Predators, which adds more layers and insight as the documentary goes deeper into journalistic ethics and personal trauma, Primetime has a visceral punch that can feel restrictive at times, like Oppenheim and Pattinson are too committed to the same bit. Yet whenever it threatens to get repetitive, the film is rescued by Wever’s turn as a shrewd, careerist producer and especially Gisondo’s heartbreaking performance as a young actor who’s improvising a role against unsettling creatures on both sides of the camera.

The movie is always sitting in judgment of its characters — not an unfair perspective, by any means, but not one prone to three-dimensionality.

It is built on some terrific performances, including a career-best by “Twilight” alumnus Robert Pattinson.

A takedown whose critique is as over-the-top and self-righteous as it is painfully simplistic.

It’s been said that we often become what we concentrate upon. That’s ironic, because frequently this results in the creation of that which we’re purposely trying to avoid. And, in this third feature outing from director Lance Oppenheim, that’s precisely what happens to its high-profile protagonist, investigative journalist Chris Hansen (Robert Pattinson). In this fact-based satire, the film follows the ascendancy of the reporter on the tabloid TV series Dateline NBC, specifically through his work on the show’s To Catch a Predator segment (2004-2007) in which he covered stories designed to expose the exploits of pedophiles. Working in conjunction with the website Perverted-Justice, Hansen, his producer (Merritt Wever), and a pair of predator bait decoy actors (Skyler Gisondo, Phoebe Bridgers) orchestrated sting operations aimed at capturing their unsuspecting prey in the act on camera. While it’s undeniable that the intentions with this mission were fundamentally noble, their on-air depictions increasingly took on a vibe of sensationalism, blurring the line between journalism and entertainment. And, as Hansen’s star rose, he relished the personal notoriety and ratings popularity that came with his efforts. However, as the film postulates, his increasingly aggressive reporting tactics and quest for professional glory suggest that he was becoming as much of a predator on the alleged perpetrators as they were on their would-be victims. It might even be said that the methods employed verged on a form of entrapment, an approach that carried significantly murky and curiously ironic consequences. Now, this is not to suggest that Hansen was becoming a sexual predator himself, but, in donning the cloak of self-appointed activist, his personal authenticity was called into question as he became the target of undercover surveillance for a supposed extramarital affair that was threatened to be exposed by The National Enquirer. If the foregoing combination of elements sounds like the makings of a cinematic tall tale, you might indeed be correct. Circumstances like those depicted in the film naturally raise questions about the picture’s factual accuracy (Hansen himself has publicly and vocally proclaimed that “Primetme” paints him in an unfairly erroneous light). Moreover, on this basis, this is a picture that won’t appeal to everyone and will likely inspire more than its share of heated debate. However, the purposeful over-the-top approach used here is designed for dramatic effect to reflect the aforementioned question about the blurred lines between journalism and entertainment and the loaded theme of predator chasing predator. And, in doing so, the narrative is not meant to be taken as literal truth as much as it is to be looked upon as a metaphor, a satirical psychological thriller using real-life events and characters as the basis for illustrating its particular viewpoints. This becomes especially apparent through this offering’s insightful script, which deftly fuses wry humor, incisive camp and tense drama to tell its story, quite a writing feat to pull off successfully. In addition, the picture’s superb performances (especially by Pattinson, Gisondo and Bridgers), inventive cinematography and editing, and outstanding original score enhance the story and its various components, combining in a singularly distinctive way suitable for a production with as many diverse elements as are present here. Although this release has a tendency to meander at times, it generally remains faithful to its intents in telling a story with messages and ramifications that go beyond the individual events that make it up – important considerations for all of us to keep in mind in our efforts to create that which we seek and to meticulously avoid that which we don’t.

Knew Pattinson was gonna rock my socks off, but didn't expect the rest of the movie to deliver in as similar of a fashion. Holy ****. This is as much the Lance Oppenheim show as it is the Robert Pattinson hour. So appealingly stylized, beautifully expressionistic in its clearly heightened depictions of real events and incredibly well edited too. Really, really loved the aesthetic soul of this picture and I think the execution ultimately puts this somewhere around the comp of "'Network' meets 'American Psycho' by way of David Fincher" and I could not get enough of it. On a thematics front, clearly some of us were not ready for the type of nuance this film was interested in putting forth, but I ultimately don't think what's being said is all that controversial. This is very basic "do the ends justify the means?" type stuff we're dealing with here and, I mean, I don't know if there's a good answer. ****, I don't think filmakers claim to know either. But there's something to be said for the dangers of monetizing content and the content industrial complex overall that I think this film is more than justified in criticizing. That doesn't mean this is an endorsement of the real-life antagonists and anyone who's claiming that is acting in bad faith, plain and simple. It's fair to look at the methods of a person fighting something we all think is horrific and ask: "hey, is there maybe a better way we can go about this?" In any event, I had a great time with this. Super dark, super frenetic and Pattinson is unbelievable (as always).

To Catch a Predator was a reality series that was part of Dateline NBC, using hidden cameras to find men arriving at a sting house to have sex with a minor (I never watched it). Robert Pattinson plays the show’s host, Chris Hensen, who (at least in this film) was obsessed with his show’s rise in primetime. Merritt Wever is cast as the show’s producer with Skyler Gisondo as the “decoy” boy. In keeping with the subject matter director Lance Oppenheim has chosen a dark look and feel. The atmosphere is continually gritty and oppressive, while the oversaturated, high-contrast cinematography and ominous music call attention to themselves. The cast is uniformly strong, even with occasional histrionics. Overall, this is a disturbing character study with visceral intensity that works, but eventually gets tiresome. Interesting note: Alex Winter (“Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure”) plays the Texas DA who’s encounter closes the film (and the series).

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

The movie feels like it was edited by a schizophrenic person and genuinely made it hard to tell what was even happening