Written by Matt Raab
Robert Pattinson has come to be known in recent years for his awkward social skills. He’s mentioned that he managed to off-put a woman who was stalking him, as well as disturb therapists he went to help for. The question conjured the moment the trailer for Primetime released was: Why would he not be great as Chris Hansen?
Primetime pulls you into the world of To Catch a Predator just as Hansen wanted to pull viewers in with shocking stories of online predators, giving viewers an unnerving answer to that question. The film itself makes it very clear that the predators Hansen interrogates aren’t the only predators we’re seeing on screen. Pattinson does an excellent job of not only being the predator who finds these men and metaphorically bleeds them dry, but the prey who has to keep his life together as he ascends to stardom. His on-screen dynamic with Dan Plumb (Skylar Gisondo, Superman), an aspiring actor conscripted into being a decoy, grips you as Hansen drags him down into the darkest evils of television and perversion.
The recreation of the show’s stings, from Tony Revolori as the Iraq veteran who kicks off Hansen’s ascension to primetime, to the rabbi who almost breaks him, are steps further and further down into the darkness of his quest for ratings. When he confronts a rabbi (played by Bob Ari), possibly one of the most gripping scenes in the film, the close-up of Hansen’s face going dark is chilling as he’s asked the question: What gives you the right? This moment sends the second half of the film into what feels like a psychological thriller, as Hansen cannot rest until he catches the whale: the predator who will put him on top.
Esquire’s infamous piece, “Tonight on Dateline, This Man Will Die” serves as the basis for the film’s climax. The article focuses on felony prosecutor, Bill Conradt, who was lured into a sting by Perverted Justice *SPOILER* but did not show, forcing the authorities to confront him at his home, where he committed suicide *SPOILER*. Watching the film, you can see the words of the article bleeding into Ajon Singh’s script; the hasty and trigger-happy attitude of the Murphy, Texas police; the total apathy of producer Andie Bender (Merritt Weaver, Marriage Story); and the gripping play-by-play of police sweeping the house through the perspective of cameras mounted on their weapons.
The immersion into the world of Primetime cannot be praised enough. Director Lance Oppenheim puts the audience in the perspective of the cameras as they record, watching full views of the security cameras as well as snippets of pop culture and television shows to ground you in the culture of the time. Every close-up of Pattinson as Hansen lets his psyche bleed into the screen, as we watch it swell and eventually fracture, a sentiment spoken out loud when he says to zoom in on the predator’s face to see his nose flare upon seeing Hansen walk out.
What felt more gripping than the cinematography might be the writing itself. Pattinson saying these words in Hansen’s voice gives them such a sharper, more unnerving feeling—especially with how intentional the writing is. Harkening back to his dynamic with Plumb, Hansen gifts him his bracelet and tells Plumb he’ll grow into it, as he reinforces a pseudo-father-son dynamic between them. His feverish reciting of the chat logs to present predators with their own undoing punctuates every sting scene with a feeling of sociopathy. Especially the chilling ultimatum he offers Plumb: “You’re either with me or with him.”
At the center of the film’s promotion has been the one and only Chris Hansen, who was offered an exclusive screening of Primetime, yet refused to sign a non-disclosure agreement in order to watch. Thousands of fans of Hansen and his work on To Catch a Predator flocked to give their reactions to the film and its content, shocked that Hansen could be portrayed as exploitative, sociopathic or even just plain evil.
Primetime does not offer a condemnation of Hansen’s work on Dateline. It does, however, bring into question his motives for emotionally dissecting these predators before they are whisked away, the justice Hansen speaks about barely an afterthought. From the film’s perspective, his role on the show would be entirely useless if not for his hunt for ratings. It asks of him and the audience the same question he asks all of the predators he confronts: What would’ve happened if I wasn’t here?
