It shouldn’t come as a surprise that documentary filmmaker Lance Oppenheim’s feature film directorial debut “Primetime” (A24) is as grainy and dimly lit as it is. The visual effects are befitting the gritty and gloomy subject matter: a dramatized look at the Dateline NBC reality show To Catch a Predator, a hidden camera program in which adult men were confronted and then arrested for arranging sexual encounters with underage people.
“Primetime,” set in 2006, takes a non-traditional approach to the topic, incorporating an unexpected amount of dark humor. In addition to providing an inside view into the machinations behind the show, it also offers insight into a few of the characters, some real and some fictional, involved.
Chris Hansen (Robert Pattinson) is the show’s host, and his creepiness almost equals that of the predators themselves. He’s obsessed with ratings and compelled by his equally driven producer Andie (Merritt Wever). He’s fiercely competitive with fellow Dateline host and NBC anchor Stone Phillips (Bill Heck). He’s an unfaithful husband to wife Mary (Anna Faris) and a flawed father to his two sons. He’s insensitive to his mistress Krystin (Caroline Hebert) and easily influenced by aggressive Xavier (Matthew Maher), the fictitious founder of the real-life vigilante organization Perverted-Justice.
The real star here is Skyler Gisondo, playing the fictionalized Dan, a struggling young actor who makes the most of the opportunity he’s given. Because of his youthful appearance, and surprising acting abilities, Dan is thrust into the spotlight, overshadowing fellow decoy Del (queer singer/songwriter Phoebe Bridgers) because he is willing to go beyond what is expected. Dan ends up becoming central to the capture of numerous sexual predators.
As ratings climb, following “…Predator” being moved to a primetime slot, Chris’ marriage continues to crumble and Patty (Jessica Hecht), an executive from a competing network, tries to poach Andie. But the real drama is just ahead. There is the potential for them to capture a more high-profile predator -- Bill Conradt (Alex Winter), an assistant district attorney from Texas.
With a screenplay by Ajon Singh, based on Luke Dittrich’s Esquire Magazine article, “Tonight on ‘Dateline’ This Man Will Die,” Oppenheim’s “Primetime” works on multiple levels. Most unexpectedly, it also achieves thriller status.
Rating: B+
