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James Mottram

3/5 stars
The latest entry in the journalism movie category that includes the likes of Network, Nightcrawler, Shattered Glass and Spotlight, Lance Oppenheim’s Primetime turns the lens on Dateline NBC, the US news magazine show, and in particular the work of Chris Hansen, the presenter of To Catch a Predator – a disturbing segment that began in 2004.
The show aimed to sniff out and expose internet paedophiles who attempted to lure underage children into meeting them.
Played with oil-slick excellence by Robert Pattinson – who also serves as a producer – Hansen is a suited-and-booted showman who steps in once predators are caught on camera with a decoy.
“What you’re doing matters,” a fellow plane passenger tells him. But in truth, he seems to care little about keeping the streets free of deviancy and is simply out to win the ratings war.


Premiering in competition at this year’s Venice International Film Festival, the film sways between Hansen and Dan Plumb (Skyler Gisondo), a 23-year-old would-be actor whose babyish looks make him ideal bait.
Recruited by Hansen’s team, run with ruthless efficiency by producer Andie Bender (Merritt Wever), Plumb is delighted at first. But a growing queasiness emerges as he confronts these predators – including one who drops his trousers and sprays whipped cream on his manhood.
Inspired by real-life events – in particular, a sting operation that went disastrously wrong – Oppenheim’s film asks us to consider the ethics and dangers of such crusading TV shows, and how complicit we might be as an audience howling for justice.
Unfortunately, it never achieves this in a meaningful way, with the film’s second half – and its ominous crashes of thunder – lurching into an unsatisfying melodrama.


Skating the surface of its subject, the execution feels rather superficial – a thriller with no thrills, its satire blunted. Moreover, Hansen remains too opaque, with the writing never quite getting under the character’s skin.
Notably, a subplot involving the National Enquirer chasing him over alleged extramarital activities goes nowhere. As for the predators on the show, they are simply carted off by the police, never to be seen again.
The film features some strong cameos, among them Wes Anderson regular Tony Revolori as an abuser, and singer Phoebe Bridgers – baseball cap firmly wedged over her head – as one of Hansen’s decoys voicing both boys and girls. But despite a wonderful seed of an idea, Primetime fails to fully blossom.
“Let’s get some justice on camera,” we are told. Adding some substance might also have been a good idea.
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Robert Pattinson plays a fictional version of TV producer and paedophile hunter Chris Hansen in this drama that lacks substance


Robert Pattinson plays a fictional version of TV producer and paedophile hunter Chris Hansen in this drama that lacks substance.


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.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Robert Pattinson plays a fictional version of TV producer and paedophile hunter Chris Hansen in this drama that lacks substance

Robert Pattinson plays a fictional version of TV producer and paedophile hunter Chris Hansen in this drama that lacks substance