Primetime
Rating: 4.5/5
By: Nathaniel Simpson
I have a lot of fond memories of growing up and watching To Catch a Predator compilations on YouTube with my friends, finding Chris Hansen catching these predators to be so entertaining and engaging. Never would I have thought we would get a film like Primetime, a movie that explores the psyche and events during the height of TCAP's success. When the first trailer came out and showed Robert Pattinson in this role and busting a predator played by Tony Revolori, I was totally hooked, and it became one of my most anticipated films of the year. Thankfully, director Lance Oppenheim delivers with this film, which features some of the best performances of Pattinson's and Skyler Gisondo's careers.
The movie chronicles To Catch a Predator at the height of its success and fame, with it now becoming a primetime television show competing with Lost, which is on at the same time. Chris Hansen, who is a reporter that rose to stardom status due to this show, starts to wrestle with personal demons and the effects of being famous, while Skyler Gisondo's Dan Plumb tries to figure out where exactly he belongs on the show as a struggling actor who wants to make it big.
Having Oppenheim as the director for this picture was perhaps a fantastic choice. He started out his career crafting documentaries, with Primetime being his first feature directorial effort. With his background in documentaries, he is able to add this flair and style to the movie that I think would have been lost on other directors. From the way he shoots the movie to the different approaches he takes to tell this story, I think this "biopic", if you even want to call it that, is perhaps one of the most unique ones you will ever see. With the psychological turmoil our main character goes through and the outside pressures against him, Oppenheim crafts this brilliant film around the screenplay from Ajon Singh.
I definitely want to touch on the cinematography from David Bolen as I truly think this might be some of the best this year. From the way Bolen and Oppenheim work together to craft these shots is truly awe-inspiring and original. There is one sequence towards the end of this movie that features some gorgeous shots during a rainy night in the house they were using that will blow you away. The camera angles, the different cameras they use, and the lighting effects on this movie are so damn good, and I truly hope this gets the recognition it deserves.
The only negative I truly have with this movie is some of the story. I have this feeling that there was a lot more they could have touched on or explored that they simply didn't. Many of these moments are captured montage-style, and the film really only focuses on a couple of major cases where they caught a predator. Not only do I think this would have added more to the story, but I think it would have benefited audiences who weren't as familiar with this iconic show or Chris Hansen, in general.
With that being said, Pattinson is perfect in this role. His performance honestly blew my expectations out of the water, and he just proves once again why he is one of the best actors working today. From the mannerisms to the facial expressions to the sound of Hansen's voice, Pattinson got it down to perfection. I honestly can't find one flaw at all in this performance here. To really understand the effect he has as this character, you need to go see this film for yourself. One performance I wasn't expecting was that of Gisondo's. I have been a fan of him ever since Vacation, but I think this is the movie that will make him realize he made it. He comes in swinging with this performance, and he can easily stand toe-to-toe with Pattinson here. I think he does a fantastic job at playing this sort of character, one so innocent to the world and having bright stars in his eyes before fully realizing what he is becoming apart of. If neither of these two incredibly talented actors get Oscar nominations, I will truly be floored.
In addition to these two performances, the rest of this cast is terrific. Merritt Wever as producer Andie Bender, is also brilliant in her own right, and there are times where she was able to steal the scene away from Pattinson. She is definitely now on my radar and I want to see more of what she can do in the future. The rest of the cast here, including those playing the predators, all genuinely understand what their role is and how to effectively convey that to the audience. The performances are the best thing about this movie, and they carry the story forward flawlessly.
I did have worries that this movie would not live up to the high expectations I had for it, but it simply did almost everything it needed to be successful. The performances here will be studied in the years to come, and I think Lance Oppenheim has a very bright future ahead of him as a director. I'm already looking forward to his new documentary with Nathan Fielder coming out next month, and it seems like there is going to be nothing stopping him in the cinematic world.
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