Movie review by Greg Carlson
Filmmaker Lance Oppenheim has drawn more attention in recent days for the upcoming Elizabeth Holmes/Theranos documentary “You Can See Everything” (which he co-directed with Nathan Fielder) than for “Primetime,” his fictionalized take on “To Catch a Predator” and host Chris Hansen. Already considered a success for making back its modest production budget within the movie’s opening box office weekend, “Primetime” pulsates with a seedy and saturated energy befitting its 2006 setting and subject. The filmmaker highlights period details with more care than he affords the curious gallery of characters loosely based on real counterparts. Hansen has publicly groused about Robert Pattinson’s portrayal, but the actor’s choices are far more interesting than any of the versions of himself that Hansen has sculpted over the years.
Oppenheim’s fiction debut should be seen on the bottom half of a double feature alongside David Osit’s 2025 intriguing documentary “Predators.” Both films address key aspects of Hansen’s pop culture phenomenon, including the compelling premise of the NBC series that ran from 2004 to 2007. Using performers/actors as decoys impersonating minors, Hansen’s team would lure alleged pedophiles to locations outfitted with hidden audio and video. Once the adult targets entered these spaces (often staged in kitchens with chocolate chip cookies on the counter), Hansen would emerge, confronting them with transcripts of their illicit online chats before the segment frequently ended in a dramatic arrest.
Osit’s film more successfully asks difficult ethical questions that challenge viewers to recognize some degree of humanity in the men seeking to violate children. While Oppenheim only hints at the pathetic brokenness and inner turmoil of the wrongdoers – most notably near the beginning of the film in a brief appearance featuring Tony Revolori – Osit included previously unseen and unused post-exposure footage of distraught predators breaking down and begging for help. The documentarian was not seeking sympathy for these men; we were instead faced with our own appetite for the grim spectacle of public shaming and dark cruelty as entertainment.
As the layered meanings of the two different titles suggest, Oppenheim centers “Primetime” on Hansen’s desire to build a TV-land empire. Ajon Singh’s screenplay, based on Luke Dittrich’s “Esquire” article “Tonight on ‘Dateline’ This Man Will Die,” emphasizes Hansen’s jealousy of anchor Stone Phillips (Bill Heck) as well as behind-the-scenes machinations to poach producer Andie Bender (Merritt Wever) for another reality television series. None of the principal or supporting characters are probed by Oppenheim for much self-reflection or inward contemplation. Instead, the deliberate decision to remain carefully perched on the outside prevents the close contemplation that might elevate the movie to greatness.
The nearest exception is Skyler Gisondo’s eager Dan Plum, christened “Decoy Dan” by a relentless Hansen. Gisondo gives viewers the strongest look at how playacting and pretending in the service of vigilante outfit Perverted-Justice’s essentially manufactured crimes and collaborative sting operations cause moral confusion and take a personal toll. Caught up in his desire to be a working professional with membership in the Screen Actors Guild, Plum communicates the doubt that eludes Hansen and his senior staff. To this day, Chris Hansen defends the “good work” of his reality programming niche. In this regard, Pattinson’s dark interpretation is on the money.