Robert Pattinson Is Disturbing and Alluring in Primetime, a Sordid Movie About a Sordid TV Show
Pattinson plays 'To Catch a Predator' host Chris Hansen in Lance Oppenheim's first narrative feature film.
Robert Pattinson stars in Primetime, an A24 film that delves into the rise and fall of NBC's controversial reality show To Catch a Predator. The show, hosted by Chris Hansen, gained notoriety for its undercover stings targeting suspected pedophiles. In the docudrama, Pattinson plays the ambitious and delusional Hansen, who takes the show to primetime in 2006, pushing his egotistical narrative of public service.
This shift in the show's programming schedule only amplified Hansen's already inflated ego. To maintain the illusion of public service, Hansen's team used young decoys posing as underage individuals. While some of the actors involved, like Tony Revolori, portray their roles with genuine terror at being ensnared by the show's questionable methods, Pattinson's performance is the highlight.
Pattinson's portrayal of Hansen is disturbing yet oddly alluring, as he perfectly captures the host's theatrics and self-congratulatory demeanor. The film's aesthetic, with its grainy visuals and early-2000s video recording style, further emphasizes the dirty nature of the show it is depicting. However, Primetime's message is somewhat ambiguous, as it blurs the line between condemning sexual predators and criticizing the unethical practices of the show itself.
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