Not everything is entertaining.
Some horrors — for example, the depravity of those who prey on society’s most vulnerable: children — should arguably never be considered anything but unsettling examples of the worst humankind has to offer. Yet, in an era where nothing is off-bounds to meme culture and commodification, Lance Oppenheim’s narrative-debut feature “Primetime” serves as an important reminder that no-one, even the well-intended do-gooders our society relies upon, is above a bad deed.
And perhaps even more frighteningly, especially in a moment when the attention economy is more competitive than ever, no-one is above watching a bad deed— after all, good ethics and good television (or in the modern sense, streaming) don’t always align.
“Primetime” stars Robert Pattinson as infamous journalist Chris Hansen, star of Dateline NBC’s “To Catch a Predator,” circa-2006 as he chases ratings boosts amidst the height of the show’s success. Hansen’s series followed systematized undercover operations using decoy actors to lure unsuspecting sexual predators right in-front of their cameras, and by extension, the American populace.
Unbeknownst to Hansen, or any of his team at the time, “To Catch a Predator” would make audiences nationwide much more receptive to the surveillance content that’s all over the internet today. It’d be a cruel oversimplification to say Oppenheim’s film is a character assassination, rather being surprisingly aware that Hansen likely had good intentions.
More accurately, Oppenheim uses the gift of hindsight to evaluate why, nearly two decades removed from the show’s cancellation, such a noble concept led to an ethically dubious production that normalized justice and violence as mainstream content calibrated for maximum virality.
Characters throughout “Primetime” have a common understanding that pedophilia is bad and children must be protected, as almost anyone would. Hansen himself is haunted by hallucinatory visions of a monstrous figure — a singular motif that seemingly symbolizes the evil of all predators — which constantly remains just out of his grasp, up until the film’s final moments.
Mere minutes after one of Predator’s ‘dupes’ Dan (Skyler Gisondo) begins his very first sting, a predator shockingly undresses himself in front of the actor, who is visibly deeply shaken by the incident for quite a while. Another ‘dupe’ Del (Phoebe Bridgers) threatens to quit when she sees the questionable merchandise produced by the Predator team.
Even a Texan police department, prior to collaborating with Hansen’s team on their most high-profile catch yet, gives Hansen a hero’s welcome to the Lone Star state.
Yet, for the majority of these characters, at one point or another, their determination to help children is superseded by more vain interests. Be it due to delusions of grandeur, enjoyment of ‘justified’ violent retribution, or a need to distract the masses from their own secrets, these folk find it disappointingly easy to adjust their moral compass (maybe naively assuming they ever had one) as circumstances demand.
Pattinson delivers a captivating lead turn as Hansen swings back and forth between a proud suave charmer and an insecure demanding showman. Beautiful framing and lighting throughout the film depict Hansen as the sort of shadowy surveillance figure that could be considered equivalent to recent technological developments: Flock cameras, recording sunglasses and controversial online content that monetizes reactions from unsuspecting strangers.
One of the film’s most striking shots however is less picturesque but a more succinct example of the film’s themes. While preparing for a large-scale stint with the aforementioned police department, where piles of resources and weaponry are being organized to confront a lone predator, Hansen casually walks past a board on the walls of the precinct. The board is full of unsolved missing children’s cases, and though it may serve as a motivator for Hansen, his team, and law enforcement to avenge these children, it ultimately conveys the hollowness of their efforts.
All these admittedly skilled professionals — there is unquestionably skill to what Hansen does, as shown when another character struggles to fill the man’s role in his absence — could be using their knowledge and resources to help real children with urgent need. But is that as fun as catching and publicly shaming a predator?
This shot embodies the film’s grim tone and alludes to its ingenious unsatisfying ending. From the moment Hansen and Predator’s producer Andie Bender (Merritt Wever) are notified of the show’s shift to primetime programming, the mounting studio pressure heightens the need for a bigger-than-ever stint. One where entertainment and success against industry rivals is irrevocably firmly prioritized over frivolous ethical matters.
But as “Primetime” closes with Dan (arguably the emotional core of the film) finally achieving what he had long hoped for, surely no one can conclude that documentarian Oppenheim finds the sustained success of the entertainment industry, fueled by people’s personal struggles and worst moments being widely shared, as anything to celebrate.
★★★★☆
Lance Oppenheim’s “Primetime” is available in Bronx theaters beginning Sep. 25, including AMC Bay Plaza Cinema & Regal Concourse.
