This year has been a busy one for Robert Pattinson. After starring in blockbusters “The Drama,” “The Odyssey” and the upcoming “Dune: Part Three,” Pattinson has stepped out with another A24 hit: “Primetime.” Marketed as an intense psychological thriller, “Primetime” delivers on the thrill while also capturing nuanced moments of emotion and humor through Pattinson’s passionate performance and Skyler Gisondo’s emotional foil.
Directed by Lance Oppenheim, “Primetime” tells a fictionalized, behind-the-scenes story of Dateline NBC’s popular show “To Catch a Predator,” a reality TV series that aired in the early 2000s. Over the course of 20 episodes, the show followed host Chris Hansen as he confronted child predators in filmed sting operations, resulting in the arrests of more than 300 suspects.
“To Catch a Predator” was a massive hit among American audiences, but the show was ultimately cancelled in 2008 after a sting operation ended with a suspect’s suicide, which “Primetime” explores in dramatic detail.
The movie opens with an extreme close-up shot of Hansen (Robert Pattinson) as he repeatedly mutters “I will undress you, and you will undress me,” lines from the transcript of a predator’s online chat with a decoy child victim. The scene builds palpable tension and anticipation, causing Hansen’s entrance alongside the predator to immediately envelope audiences in his world of interrogation.
While Pattinson’s portrayal of Hansen is faithful to the source material in some moments, it strays from the real story in others. Pattinson nails the essence of Hansen’s trademark voice when he confronts a child predator, but throughout the rest of the film, glimpses of Pattinson himself peek through. Hansen’s flashes of manic depression, obsessive perfectionism and anxiety are reminiscent of Pattinson’s characters in “The Drama” and “Mickey 17.” In this way, Pattinson seems to incorporate his own manic energy and quirks into the character, creating a version of Hansen that feels both authentically Pattinson and fitting for the story.
The true star of the movie is gawky Dan Plumb — or Decoy Dan, as Hansen calls him — played by Skyler Gisondo. Gisondo’s character is loosely based on the experiences of Dan Schrack, one of several decoys — adult actors hired to pose as underage minors to lure suspected sex offenders to the sting sites — featured throughout the run of “To Catch a Predator.”
The audience is enamored with Plumb from the beginning, as they witness him transform from an awkward, aspiring actor to a flourishing performer in his portrayal of a young, naive teenager on Hansen’s show. Plumb’s endearing qualities provide much-needed comic relief. His childlike enthusiasm is contagious as he calls his friend to rave about his fully-paid hotel room, expressing particular excitement about the luxury of having a coffee machine and single-serve cream and sugar packets.
Despite Plumb’s comedic nature, he is traumatized after being haphazardly thrown in front of a child predator on his first day on the job. After Hansen persuades him to stay, Plumb’s journey on the show provides the film with a gripping secondary arc. This focus is one of the most effective parts of the movie. Instead of purely focusing on Hansen’s experience as the main character, the film sheds light on the trauma and mental struggle faced by the show’s decoys. By the end of the movie, Plumb is no longer the innocent actor, but a disillusioned young man.
The film’s strengths don’t stop at its well-developed characters. Oppenheim’s innovative use of camera formats makes the movie particularly striking. His use of vintage cameras — ranging from old broadcast cameras to a micro-endoscope used for colonoscopies — effectively conveys an early-2000s graininess essential to the aesthetic of the thriller. Stitching together camcorder footage, extreme close-ups and psychedelic flashing lights, the movie exists within an uneasy, fever-dream-like realm.
“Primetime” is a deeply thought-provoking, striking and humorous movie that sheds a new, human light on Hansen’s “To Catch a Predator.” The audience is left stunned by the film’s visuals, Pattinson’s strong performance and dark humor, but it is Gisondo’s portrayal of Plumb that lingers with us long after. Viewers are asked to reconsider their thoughts on a show previously considered as pure spectacle and entertainment, and left with the question: What makes a victim?
