Primetime doesn’t know what it wants to be or say. That doesn’t stop it from being fairly watchable.
Primetime is one of those films with big ambitions, a wide scope, and an incredibly narrow subject matter. To Catch A Predator is, amongst many other things, niche. Sure, as the film outlines, it was once on national television, getting millions to tune in each week. However, it isn’t one of those shows that can encapsulate many worlds into one. It is one concrete concept. The film seems to forget that fact.
Director Lance Oppenheim probably had a better movie in his footage, and maybe even a near-masterful one, but couldn’t quite bring that vision to screen. To say it lightly, the movie is cluttered. Enjoyable, sure? Funny, at times. Thought-provoking, almost. There’s just something missing, or to phrase it a different way, what’s there gets in the way of what could be. From Decoy Dan’s fully-fledged arc, to producer troubles, to Hansen's erratic behavior and questionable decision-making, there’s just a lot stuffed into a movie that should’ve honed in on something. Instead, it’s a sampler-platter of themes and conflicts that never quite coalesce.
We (okay, me) at JRLM are never disappointed with Pattinson. He’s one of the brightest and busiest star actors in Hollywood today, and his performance here really does feel like it captures Hansen’s nature. It’s the kind of comedic performance that mixes and matches dramatic moments efficiently. In the opening sequence especially, Rob is Chris. However, as the mics turn off and the pervert is apprehended, Hansen becomes more of a caricature. We can guess or assume that Hansen really does act this way off screen, but we can’t know. This makes Pattinson's moments as the dateline NBC ready-for-action version of Hansen much more compelling than his pleading moments with his wife or mental breakdowns out of the camera's sight.
Out of all the ideas that are jammed in here, including but not limited to: Hollywood's whirlwind sorting process and the reality of the business, serving oneself under the disguise of serving justice, the price of getting to the spotlight, and the nuanced nature of doing the right things in life, one theme is painfully absent. The psychology of the child-predator. Seems important? Especially if the film is going to end on Hansen crying as an especially relevant pedophile pays a dire price. We need the film to say something about what Hansen's legacy and the show’s subjects are really about, and unfortunately, Primetime bows out of that challenge. It’s not a complete bust, but it’s not the most compelling version we could’ve gotten. It finds itself somewhere in the meddling middle.
6.6/10
