Movie review – “Primetime”

When I heard that there was a new movie coming out about Chris Hansen and his infamous television show “To Catch a Predator,” I was intrigued. The show has generated several famous clips, and is widely known for its premise of luring child predators into traps to expose them on TV. After the trailer released on August 6, I knew that I needed to see it.

The movie had generated much discussion on what it was going to entail, but it was revealed that the film would cover the events of the show’s rise to stardom, as well as the leading incident that led to the show’s cancellation. 

The film follows Chris Hansen (Robert Pattinson) through his grapple for success and his belief of “cleansing an ancient evil,” all while struggling to keep his public image intact and his marriage afloat from an affair.

The show’s producer, Andie Bender (Merritt Wever), faces a power struggle with Hansen, and finds it difficult to keep the show together due to Hansen’s deteriorating mental state. She also has another studio, ABC, attempting to convince her to work for another famous show at the time, “What Would You Do?”

The last primary character of the movie is Dan Plum (Skyler Gisondo), an inspiring actor whose motivation is to earn a membership to the Screen Actors Guild. Plum is hired as a child decoy for the show, and goes through a series of events that pushes his idea of what is right and what is wrong. 

“To Catch a Predator” is put on primetime by Dateline NBC (hence the title), to compete with rival ABC and their hit show at the time, “Lost.” 

Hansen, from pressure by the studio, the creeping idea of his affair going public, as well as his personal goal to catch “the whale,” pushes himself to take a chance on what could be their biggest catch yet. 

After a receiving a letter from a police officer in Murphy, Texas about how he believes the show is doing good in the world and that he supports Hansen, Xavier Von Erck (Matthew Maher), the founder of Perverted-Justice, an anti-pedophilia organization who worked with the show to find predators, stumbles upon a predator from the area that they eventually find out is the assistant district attorney Bill Conradt.

The rest of the movie is about the events that unfold as the result of Hansen’s goal to catch Conradt.

A quick google search about the true event of the finding of Conradt spoils the movie’s plot, but the movie created a high tension that put me on edge for most of the run-time, despite knowing what was going to happen.

The film’s impressive cinematography stands out immediately. The use of several different camera formats, such as mini-DV cameras giving the show’s hidden camera shots in real time and vintage broadcast cameras, is a nice touch. The filtering and coloring is shockingly stunning, and the lightning is borderline perfect in every scene.

Casting for the movie was another standout. You cannot talk about this movie without talking about Pattinson’s stellar performance as Hansen. From matching Hansen’s voice, tendencies, and bringing a unique blend of charisma and desperation to the movie, Pattinson puts it all on the table. I would not be shocked to see him win an Oscar for the performance.

The supporting cast impresses too, with both Gisondo and Wever providing different angles of chaos and sympathy to the story. Having their own conflicts and motivations, the plot makes sure to give space for their own development. Well-known music artist Phoebe Bridgers also acts in her first ever performance in the movie, and is almost seamless in the cast.

I have seen much discussion about the movie, with many different interpretations giving way for both positive and negative reactions.

The primary critique of the movie is the depiction of Chris Hansen as a person. Some argue that the story is painting Hansen as a bad person, which upsets some people, as his work itself is morally right. Others say that the film sympathizes with the predators of the story.

What I think the movie tries to say is that morals and humanity aren’t so black and white. This idea is evident through Plum’s character. Plum is in a mixed bag of what he feels is the morally correct thing to do. He agrees that stopping predators is a good thing, but feels guilty for doing it. His moral code is put to question, and that’s what the movie is trying to portray. 

From a moral standpoint, the movie asks the question: “How extreme can you go to do the right thing?”

Hansen is a complex character, as what he is doing is objectively right, but his actions are questionable. He actively ignores his producer in pursuit of what could be “the big catch,” and doesn’t take the correct precautions to handle situations. On top of all of that, he has an affair and doesn’t see his kids very often. His motivations are unclear, seemingly prioritizing ratings and his urge to put the predators on TV at times over actually catching the predators.

But so then what do we label Hansen as? The answer is that we don’t label him at all. That’s what the movie is trying to convey. That morality is a spectrum, and there is a grey area, not just black and white.

Something to note as well is the movie is not a true telling of Chris Hansen and the events. While the movie is based on the same people and same events, the film dramatizes its plot. The movie is not claiming to be an exact replica of what transpired and Hansen himself, but rather tells a story using the name and events.

Overall, I believe “Primetime” is a fantastic movie that delivers with some of the best acting I have ever seen and a plot that asks its viewers to reconsider the dichotomy of good and bad.