Primetime — Review
Source: A24
Robert Pattinson’s vocal work is one of the most compelling aspects of his acting career. Whether adopting a different accent or leaning into a strange, deliberate cadence, he treats his voice as a key instrument for building distinct characters. In Lance Oppenheim’s Primetime, he uses that instrument with remarkable precision as Chris Hansen, the host of Dateline NBC’s To Catch a Predator.
He may not physically resemble Hansen, but he captures the man’s intonation and cadence with startling authenticity. If I were not already aware of Pattinson’s unique vocal range, I would have assumed they used archival audio from the real show because he absolutely knocks it out of the park. Despite Pattinson completely nailing Hansen’s voice and mannerisms, I never felt as though I was watching an impersonation, and I mean that as a compliment. There is a difference between replication and interpretation, and Pattinson stays firmly in the latter. He gets close enough that you can immediately recognize the reference, but there is still a layer of separation that keeps it from feeling like mimicry or sketch comedy. Instead, it feels filtered through his own sensibility. His performance here is precisely that—a performance, not an imitation. Pattinson has been having a monumental year between Kristoffer Borgli's The Drama and Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, but Primetime easily features his best performance of the year so far, though Denis Villeneuve's Dune: Part Three could certainly change that. Nevertheless, his portrayal of Chris Hansen is some of the finest work of his career and further proves that he truly is a chameleon of an actor.
Source: A24
Besides Pattinson’s performance, the film’s greatest strength is its tone. It leans into a dark, uncomfortable kind of satire that never fully lets Chris Hansen off the hook. For years, Hansen was largely framed in the media as a kind of hero figure—someone stepping in to expose and stop potential predators. But more recent work, such as David Osit’s 2025 documentary Predators, has shed light on the complexities of Hansen’s image, examining the harm and ethical ambiguity surrounding the show itself. Primetime feels like it’s operating in that same space, but instead of a sobering exploration, it approaches it with a wicked sense of humor. That’s what makes the satire so effective. Oppenheim could have made a biopic or a straightforward celebration of Hansen’s work, but he opts for something far more complex. The film is gritty, grimy, raw, and morally ambiguous. Rather than taking big comedic swings, the humor is far more subtle, inviting viewers to quietly question Hansen and his producers’ motives and morals.
Source: A24
Pattinson’s performance isn’t the only highlight from an acting standpoint. Singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers also stands out, proving she’s got some serious acting chops as one of the show’s decoys. It’s a layered performance, since the decoy she portrays poses as both underage girls and boys. Bridgers is not only playing the actress herself, but also portraying that character performing different versions of adolescence depending on who she’s trying to lure in. It’s a smaller role, but one that fits perfectly within the film’s examination of the art of performance and the blurred boundary between authenticity and constructed identity. The part marks Phoebe Bridgers’ first major foray into acting, but it never feels like stunt casting. She plays the role with a very controlled, understated energy.
Source: A24
Skyler Gisondo stars as a struggling actor who joins the crew as another decoy, eventually earning the nickname “Decoy Dan” from Hansen. His performance becomes the emotional anchor of the film. Dan genuinely sees himself as an actor and initially treats the job like just another booking, without fully understanding the complexity or weight of what he’s stepping into. As the film progresses, Gisondo brilliantly captures Dan’s slow shift from ambition to discomfort.
While Hansen and the producers are consumed by ratings, optics, and performative morality, Dan is one of the only characters who still feels grounded in something real. Through Dan, the film is able to explore the strange space between entertainment and exploitation without becoming overly didactic. His perspective makes the moral ambiguity feel much more personal. Gisondo’s remarkably restrained work conveys Dan’s internal struggle: the conflict between the pride of doing his job well and the shame and distress of realizing what that job is actually contributing to.
Source: A24
Merritt Wever shines as one of the show’s producers. Her goals sometimes clash with Hansen’s, and that tension becomes one of the more interesting undercurrents in the film. While Hansen is more concerned with his public image, she’s focused on ratings and keeping the show alive. The public may have perceived To Catch a Predator as a valorous effort to protect children from potential predators, but Primetime exposes how, like any other television program, its primary goal is to sustain viewership and maintain relevance as the media landscape changes. The film’s darkly satirical takedown of the media calls to mind films such as Dan Gilroy’s Nightcrawler (2014) and Sidney Lumet’s Network (1976).
Despite all its strengths, the film isn’t completely seamless in its execution. The pacing is a bit uneven, especially in the second half. At times, certain plot points can begin to feel repetitive. For example, there are stretches where the film circles the same idea about Hansen’s public persona without really pushing it into new territory, especially compared to how layered some of the other characters feel by contrast. The storyline involving his family feels particularly underdeveloped, and Anna Faris as his wife feels underutilized.
On a technical level, David Bolen’s cinematography often plays with multiple perspectives and a fragmented visual approach that mirrors the media environment it’s depicting. Daniel Garber’s editing matches that energy, cutting at a quick pace that reinforces the controlled chaos of the behind-the-scenes television production. Together, they give the film a consistently restless sense of momentum that suits the material. Oppenheim’s experience as a documentary filmmaker also works in the film’s favor. Primetime is his first narrative feature, but it often feels informed by his documentary background through its observational style. Yet, he experiments with visual style in a way that gives this film a distinct personality and makes it consistently captivating.
Source: A24
During the interrogation scenes between Hansen and the would-be predators, he often asks, “What would have happened if I wasn’t here?”—a line that the real Chris Hansen frequently used on To Catch a Predator. That question echoes throughout the film and gradually takes on a more complicated meaning as Primetime explores his place within the larger structure of the show. It’s a question that will likely linger in viewers’ minds long after the film ends, as they are left to grapple with the moral ambiguity of Chris Hansen’s work.
Overall, Primetime is a sharp satire that offers an often unsettling look at one of television’s most notorious true crime programs. Oppenheim’s film is driven by strong performances, a confident sense of direction, a distinctive visual style, and a darkly comedic tone. Even when the pacing falters or certain ideas feel underdeveloped, its formal ambition and thematic weight keep it compelling. Robert Pattinson’s knockout performance alone is worth the price of admission. Primetime leaves the audience with more questions than answers as it examines the ethics of turning real-life crime into entertainment, pushing us to reflect on how we engage with this type of media and our own role as willing consumers of it.
Check out Primetime in theaters on September 25, 2026.
