It’s interesting to see how stories like Primetime suit a noir-like approach. Naturally, the film is more of a psychological thriller, but not unlike Nightcrawler, Primetime seems to operate in the neo-noir landscape. While based on reality, this is a bleak tale focused on the moral ambiguity of someone who believes himself to be in the right, despite diving into such a dark atmosphere. Director Lance Oppenheim’s filmmaking choices also add to this, which means it comes down to how effective this arrangement is at telling the story. While there’s certainly a way to sensationalize the actions of TV journalist Chris Hansen, much like his approach to the reality series To Catch a Predator, does it ultimately lead to a film that properly conveys what took place?
Robert Pattinson stars as Hansen, in a performance he described as a cross between Jerry Maguire and Dracula. I can see it. There’s a clear charisma that recalls both, but from the opening scene, we can tell this guy is off in some way. From the film’s perspective, we only get so much context. The movie makes it clear that Hansen has plenty of experience in the TV news world, but craves more, particularly in a way that puts him in front of the camera. While Primetime traces the show from its quick rise to peak popularity in 2005 to its cancellation in 2007, we largely watch from Hansen’s perspective, along with two other key roles.
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Those roles are Andie Bender (Merritt Wever) and Dan Plumb (Skyler Gisondo). Bander is Hansen’s producer at Dateline NBC. She is all about the ratings. Her choices reflect someone who fully understands the position she’s putting them in, but is still hooked on what it means to succeed in this industry. Wever is up to the challenge of channeling an innocent persona that lets others look past her manipulations. It’s striking work for a performance that would otherwise seem quite low-key.
Gisondo is not exactly breaking out here, as I’ve enjoyed him plenty in a wide variety of comedies over the years. That said, for a dramatic turn that still features comedic elements, he’s a real winner as the young actor hired to portray much younger teenagers, aka “Decoy Dan.” It’s the way he’s able to turn his nervousness into something of a likable quirk, let alone make it seem as though he admires Hansen, that is in no way returned in any serious fashion. Given the film’s own tricky tone for how to balance the severity of what’s taking place with Hansen’s ostentatiousness, Gisondo’s work on the side deserves plenty of credit as well.
The rest of the supporting cast works effectively enough. Phoebe Bridgers, Matthew Maher, Bokeem Woodbine, and Anna Faris as Hansen’s wife, Mary Joan, all bring qualities that deepen the intended atmosphere of what it can be like to be involved in a show like this, and the good and bad it brings them individually. Even actors like Tony Revolori, who portrays one of the child predators, manage to do a lot with limited screen time.
Oppenheim’s direction, along with his crew, lets the cast perform as well as they do. There’s only so much narrative here, but thanks to different filmmaking formats, how the film edits between the reality of what’s going on in front of and behind the camera when the show is taking place, and how the focus there is on Hansen’s state of mind, there’s a real suggestion of wanting to take away a lot from just the heightened, stylized approach we see. For such a dark film that wants to work with enough trippy visuals to recall Oliver Stone or Tony Scott, minus the action and graphic violence, it really wants to hope the viewer is invested in what’s happening on screen. For the most part, I was.
Here’s the thing, however – Hansen’s persona only goes so far. Even with added context about what’s going on with the show and elements like Decoy Dan, there’s only so much that’s really there. Yes, seeing the show run its course gives us a throughline to follow, but the key figure we are focused on is basically fully formed when we meet him. That’s not to say there’s an issue of likability or that he needs to grow for an audience to understand him better. Really, it’s more like Oppenheim and writer Ajon Singh did enough to open up a world, but once you see the movie, it feels like there’s not a whole lot inside that really needed to be seen.
To be clear, Pattinson is giving an excellent performance here. He shines in a way that is mildly disturbing yet incredibly watchable (without considering how bad we should feel for the actual Hansen, who was ostensibly doing good work while having an ego about being a star). The same goes for the other performers, and the film moves along and is short enough not to delve too far down into the depths of sensationalized television to feel anything but horrid when the credits roll. However, between other stories about these sort of grand but icky men that provide a full spectrum on what they are all about and the 2025 documentary Predators, which had more to say about the legacy of To Catch a Predator, it does feel like this movie comes up a bit short.
It’s honestly not even frustrating to not like this movie more, though I do believe it earns above-average marks. It’s just that having this film feel like it accomplished what it set out to do makes it feel flawed to me in a way I can’t control. It has a point of view and takes a visually compelling approach, and it’s acted quite well, but it still ultimately feels a bit shallow thematically. The movie is ready for primetime, but I didn’t catch more than solid appreciation for the elements that worked best.
Primetime opens in theaters on September 25, 2026.
