^{Credit: Primetime (A24)}

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Despite not watching To Catch a Predator in the mid-aughts, I was familiar with Chris Hansen thanks to a South Park parody. To this date, my sister and I still reference Hansen telling Cartman to “have a seat.” At a time when a lot of people were praising Hansen for tackling such a serious issue, South Park seemed to be one of the earlier shows to call him out. Yes, Hansen lured predators out of hiding, but that doesn’t make him a saint. It doesn’t even necessarily make him a journalist. To Catch a Predator essentially made Hansen a reality TV show host with the integrity of Ashton Kutcher on Punk’d.  

Lance Oppenheim’s Primetime isn’t a hit piece against Hansen per se. Rather, it presents Hansen for what he was above all else: an opportunist. Maybe Hansen genuinely believed he was doing god’s work, although ratings were likely what drove his mission. Oppenheim’s film is visually, tonally, and thematically reminiscent of Nightcrawler. Like Jake Gyllenhaal’s Lou Bloom, Robert Pattinson plays Hansen as an ambitious man who will cross any line to get what he wants. Where Bloom operated behind the scenes, though, Hansen is also on camera, meaning he has more to lose if things blow up in his face.

As confident as Hansen comes off when he surprises a predator, he’s slowly coming undone when the cameras aren’t rolling. His marriage is crumbling over an affair while the network pressures him to beat Lost on Wednesdays. Hansen eventually becomes caught in a trap of his own making, desperately searching for a way out. The most level-headed person on Hansen’s show is Merritt Wever as Andie Bender, a producer who’s every bit as ratings-hungry. There are too many balls in the air for even her to control, however. Skyler Gisondo is another standout as Dan Plumb, an aspiring actor who plays a “decoy,” i.e. an adult pretending to be a young target. Although Dan tells himself this is a legitimate gig, being a decoy is to acting what Hansen is to journalism.

Primetime is bound to draw comparison to David Osit’s documentary Predators. While that film brought up some intriguing points, it perhaps came off as too sympathetic towards sex offenders. Yes, pedophiles are people too, but they’re still pedophiles. We wouldn’t show empathy to Jared Fogle, who is briefly referenced here. Primetime mainly keeps the focus on Hansen and how his supposed lack of ethics affected those around him. Whether you believe the predators deserved to be publicly shamed, the decoys and their mental health should’ve been given more consideration. Yet, “Decoy Dan,” as Plumb is nicknamed, was apparently an afterthought.

Oppenheim avoids making a conventional biographical drama, instead turning in a compelling and darkly comedic character study. Pattinson nails Hansen’s slick voice, although he goes beyond doing an impression. He paints a portrait of someone who is constantly testing limits. The limits of his peers, the limits of his wife, and the limits of the predators he was determined to catch on camera. To Catch a Predator might’ve been enjoyable for what it was: sleazy, tabloid entertainment. There came a time when it became something else, though, and boundaries were overstepped. Hansen may stand by his work, but perhaps he wasn’t ready for primetime.

Awards Prospects:  

Robert Pattinson: Best Actor (Oscars, Golden Globes, BAFTA)

Skyler Gisondo: Best Supporting Actor (Oscars, Golden Globes)

Nick Spake is the Author of Bright & Shiny: A History of Animation at Award Shows Volumes 1, 2, and 3. Available Now!