by David Slifer
Graphic courtesy of Arthur Colon
Primetime released on September 25 to an eager and intrigued crowd. The film was directed by Lance Oppenheim and starred Robert Pattinson as the man himself Chris Hansen, Skylar Gisondo, Merritt Wever, Phoebe Bridgers and Matthew Maher.
The film focuses on the hit Dateline NBC show “To Catch A Predator” which ran from 2004 to 2007 and was hosted by Chris Hansen, who has been known and continues to catch online predators. We focus on the year 2006 and the show has been moved on the schedule to 9 p.m., primetime. With the schedule being updated, Chris and Producer Andie Bender (Wever) are now trying to make the show bigger, badder as they keep an eye out for the worst of the worst with the predators out there and as Hansen said in the movie, “Bigger than Lost.”
The movie gained a lot of traction through advertising as many people of different backgrounds heard and were curious about what the film was going to tackle. It took over social media; the trailers were well and out there and the word of mouth was strong. Senior Theatre Education Major, Kirra Hough said, “I heard about this film due to following A24 on social media.” The push reaches multiple platforms with Junior Musical Theatre Major, John Michael Mottola said “I was just scrolling through TikTok one day and the trailer popped up on my ‘For You’ page.” Sophomore Directing Major, Adriel Halavach told us “I was talking to my cousin about film on night, and he mentioned about this new film called “Primetime” about Chris Hansen that was coming out a few months prior to its release.” Even Freshman Design/Tech Major Makayla Caskey said “I first heard about primetime when the trailer popped up on YouTube. I then went and saw it with a group of friends.”
To Catch A Predator was a very successful show, but many may not have been aware of the information that led to certain situations happening. Many didn’t know what to expect, had an idea of what they would witness, or knew the history leading them into the theater. Mottola and Hough knew quite a bit about the history involved with Mottola later stating “I knew it was about Chris Hansen and To Catch A Predator. It was going to be more dramatized and fictional telling of the story and his time on the show.” Hough went on to say, “I had seen the actual TV show To Catch a Predator and had known about its cancellation and the major controversy to follow.” Halavach did not know much at the start until later, saying “I didn’t know much about Chris Hansen once this film was announced, I had done a ton of research beforehand from the original “To Catch a Predator” TV show, which made me more invested into the film.” For Caskey, the show was also very much around when it was being aired around the time of a certain controversy with them stating “I had watched the show when I was younger as it was almost everywhere back then. I heard about the show ending because someone passed during the process of an episode. “
The trailers sparked a lot of conversation as they started to really show us the shape of what to possibly expect but also confusing us at the same time. This actually led to Chris Hansen commenting on the project with genuine confusion and concern. The way Hansen was shown seemed to be a different interpretation and lens than most people are used to. Halavach explained “From the trailer I got what I originally had in mind coming into it, a thriller film inspired by real investigations/people from the original “To Catch a Predator” TV show. But I wasn’t expecting the extra concepts the film leads into, *Spoiler Alert* but there is a storyline about an ancient Indian folklore “the primordial monster” during a missing child report in a local Indian village, which strengthens the concept of why this version of Chris Hansen does these investigations and views predators as monsters.” Many might have expected a biographical film about Hansen, but the premise was different when we got to see the perspective of many other people involved in the story. Hough even explained “I was expecting more focus on Chris Hansen’s actual background prior to the show and what made him want to start this operation in the first place, I also was pleasantly surprised to see more about the Actors who had played the bait in the actual show as well.” Caskey even later went on to say, “I expected to just see Chris Hanson’s journey of creating the show—which is a big part of the movie but I do think the movie creates a more “enjoyable” experience for the audience rather than it being a documentary.”
Many people noted that the film was dramatized in many aspects; many people had their own unique thoughts on how that word is used when describing this film. The most popular comments revolve around how Hansen was written, Halavach shared similar thoughts, stating “The intentions of Chris Hansen in the film is really what looks unusual. Since Chris Hansen does these investigations mainly because he wants to investigate the minds of these horrible people but to also know why they do these things. In Primetime that mentality is still there but to its extent was oversaturated to depict Chris Hansen as someone who also mainly does this just to be famous.” In other ways, Hough brought up a great point that not many have given much attention to, noting, “I think the part of the story that really took an unusual turn would be when Xavier found the “whale” during one of his chat sessions, who was a potential person higher up in the government. Immediately the plot got thicker, and you could feel the tension in the movie theatre itself.” Mottola also brought up some good points with him, leading to say “I would say the comedic moments I was not expecting. I think anything Decoy Dan (Gisondo) was involved with was unexpected. I did not expect them to have an entire storyline dedicated to one of the decoys. I liked it because I believe its an aspect that goes over people’s heads, and how much of a mental toll it is to do that. You’re putting yourself into a very unsafe situation and you’re not even the one who gets the praise for it. Lastly, the style of the movie I liked. I think it was cool how they were very self-aware.” Junior Musical Theatre Major, Chandler Pointdexter gave their thoughts going on to say “I feel like the more graphic moments I was not expecting. But I also think that’s because I did not know much before going in. Caskey made a great point with their opinion on this matter, saying “I think the dramatic direction the movie went strengthened it. It added new elements to something I would never have expected. I will say if they were wanting to give awareness to the fact that perverts were caught for money and attention rather than helping a cause; a dramatic effect wouldn’t be the right move”
For those of you who are unaware, Chris Hansen hasn’t shown the film support. This is due to many reasons such as they did not tell him about the film until the day before the teaser was released and he was asked by A24 if he could help promote the film with him wanting to see the film first but was asked to sign an NDA leading to him not seeing it until it was released. Once the film was in theaters and Hansen saw it, he said “It was so bizarre and so in-and-out of reality. Obviously, I’m not objective because the character is, me, but it was so detached from reality or anything I’ve experienced then or now doing the investigations. I’m not sure what the point of it was.” Some differing opinions were stated. Pointdexter said “I do not think they did a bad job depicting that he did it because he wanted to get the predators but still showing that their ratings were important. It enlightened people about what was happening. Mottola had a different mindset saying “I think it makes sense for him to have that reaction to it. In reality, as far as anyone is concerned, at least the general public, he did this for awareness of how to keep your kids safe and away from those types of people. Do I think there were parts of the movie that could be true? Ratings always matter. Especially with a show that big.” Hough’s take on the quote was very intriguing, saying “I think he has a right to say if he thinks the film was over-dramatized or slightly detached from reality, but I would also say these beliefs are probably stemming more from a place of his own flawed portrayal in the film, I mean no one wants to be reminded of the negative parts of their past, especially when it’s going to be in a film that millions of people may see.” Caskey made a good point, leaning more to the side of Hansen by saying “I did see Chris Hansen’s quote about his thoughts on the movie. I do agree it was not in touch with reality and seemed very out there—especially if you were a part of the show. I am also not sure why the movie was made. You could argue that the movie called out people doing bad things for money yet the movie existing also contradicts that point.”
The big draw for this movie was the actor, Robert Pattinson, playing the Predator Catcher. The actor has made a very historical run in the 2020 decade and continues to prove his range through films like “Mickey 17,” “The Batman,” “The Odyssey,” and now “Primetime.” Many said he sounded exactly like Chris Hansen and mastered how he moved, worked and did his job. Caskey stated “I really love Robert Pattison’s performances recently—especially in the recent movie “Odyssey.” His performance as Chris Hanson was good, but I only really saw him as the actual Chris when he was doing the voice in the studio. Overall, I’d give his performance an 8.5/10” For some people he may have taken it a bit too far, with Halavach stating “I think that Robert Pattison as any actor in Hollywood is mainly cast for the sake of having a big name attached to a film, but a very small minority of those actors that are possess an incredibly talented range. But in Primetime, his approach on Chris Hansen is arguably both flawed and great. His skills are great when it comes to acting, but when playing a real person, he crosses the barrier of trying to make a fun party impression of Chris Hansen.” Hough had a very positive impression on the performance, saying “I thought Robert Pattison was phenomenal as Chris Hansen. Pattison really continues to amaze me with literally all of his accent work. He gets these accents down to specific small speech patterns and their jaw, teeth, and lips all move; it’s like he is studying the science of how they speak.”
The film has gained a very massive following. This has come with a mixture of differing opinions, and many might think that is a good thing as film recently has not garnered so much traction outside of some hero-related media. If you are on the fence about going to see this movie, go ahead and go see it. It is a very unique project that makes you question certain things even days after you leave the theater. You will not regret it.
