“Are you ready to make television history?”
Primetime was released in theatres on September 25th, and the internet is already going crazy for this new hit film. The film premiered in the 83rd Venice International Film Festival where it received a whopping nine minute standing ovation.
Primetime is an A24 film directed by Lance Oppenheim, and it is his narrative feature film debut. Primetime follows the story of the reality television show To Catch a Predator and is based on the 2007 Esquire article titled “Tonight on Dateline This Man Will Die” written by Luke Dittrich.
Robert Pattinson stars as the show’s host Chris Hansen, yet he also served as a producer of the film, his first producing credit. Merritt Wever, Skyler Gisondo and Phoebe Bridgers play supporting roles in the film, Bridgers being her film debut.
In 2006, Hansen hosted the hit tv show To Catch A Predator that was featured on NBC. In this show, Hansen and his team conducted sting operations with the help of an anti-pedophile group called Perverted-Justice. They would lure predators they caught online to a house where there was a decoy actor. Then, they would be confronted by Hansen and his crew before being arrested. After the show began to grow in popularity, it moved to the primetime spot (hence the name of the film) and competed with the long running show Lost.
The film also featured an original score created by composer Ari Balouzian, including the track “Savior”. The end title song “On Video” was written and performed by Phoebe Bridgers. The film also featured the song “London Bridge” by Fergie as a classic 2006 song for the opening scene.
I really enjoyed this film, and I firmly believe that it is going to become one of the biggest hit movies of the year. Not only was the acting overall very impressive and flawless, but it is outstanding to think that Pattinson has been in three hit films this year, The Drama, The Odyssey and Primetime, as well as the scheduled December release of Dune: Part Three. Pattinson is clearly having a successful year, and this fame gained from these movies is completely deserved. You can see just how wide his range as an actor is from these films.
With an 81% audience approval rating so far, the movie seems to be doing pretty well in the first few days after its release.
Many fans praise Pattison’s portrayal of Hansen, down to every detail. A lot of people also highly regard the director’s unique style for this movie. For example, Letterboxd Reviewer James says the film is, “kind of unbelievable. [It] puts Hansen’s most demonic tendencies on full display with such a maximalist visual style I didn’t think most directors today were confident enough to even attempt.”
“It feels like being inside the static between the tv screen and reality,” said Letterboxd Reviewer Sydney, and I wholeheartedly agree with this review.
However, others have different views. “I found it fairly unfocused and trying to do/say too much, leaving its commentary a little muddled and its conclusion quite abrupt.” said Letterboxd User Zoë Rose Bryant. “Rob is ‘fun,’ but the film’s portrayal of Hansen ultimately felt too cartoonish and shallow to me, and I wish it would’ve addressed other criticisms of to catch a predator such as the whole entrapment issue and how many charges it actually got dropped or dismissed.”
Now, this review of the movie does bring up some good points. I think it is important to consider the unlawful aspects of all components of the movie, and the challenges and issues that the airing of this show arose. However, I do think this movie is a powerful story and spreads an impacting message to all audiences, as well as immensely talented acting, filming and editing.
