How ‘Primetime’ Gets ‘To Catch a Predator’ All Wrong

A24 Your reaction to Primetime will depend, to some extent, on your feelings about Dateline NBC ’s segment To Catch a Predator , in which would-be sexual predators—arriving at houses thinking they were meeting underage kids with whom they intended to have sex—were confronted by host Chris Hansen.

Was it a show that beneficially exposed an epidemic of pedophilia in seemingly safe suburban neighborhoods? Was it exploitation that turned deviants’ misfortune into sleazy entertainment? Or was it somewhere in the middle—a compulsively watchable program that employed questionable tactics in service of a worthy cause? Primetime , a fictional drama about the series and its star, certainly takes a stance on the matter—and in the bluntest, most obvious, and repetitive way imaginable.

Arriving on the heels of last year’s documentary Predators , Lance Oppenheim’s film (in theaters Sept.

25) is almost shockingly one-note, condemning with a crudeness that puts its subject’s methods to shame.

Spearheaded by an unconvincing Robert Pattinson performance that leaves nothing to the imagination, it’s a takedown whose critique is as over-the-top and self-righteous as it is painfully simplistic.

In the lead-up to its release, Hansen has loudly voiced his displeasure with the film, calling it an “insult,” questioning it as potential “identity theft,” and claiming that he wasn’t consulted on the project or allowed to see it in advance because A24 “wanted me to sign away my rights.” Considering its scathing portrayal of the TV personality, his reaction is understandable.

Hansen is initially seen in extremely creepy close-ups of his mouth and eyes as he recites a transcript of the disgusting sexual chat-room comments typed by the deviant he’s about to make a national TV star—an introduction that, by putting pedophilic words in its crusading protagonist’s mouth, equates him with the men he views as villains.

Hansen is an ogre from the start and never changes throughout the saga; the fact that this line-reading device repeats at the film’s conclusion reflects the film’s preference for unsophisticated demonization over thorny inquiry and evolution.

As Primetime swiftly reveals, this isn’t the sole thing wrong with Hansen.

Doing his “gotcha” schtick on camera, he comes across as a shady weirdo who takes great (borderline-eroticized) pleasure in his toil, and when NBC boss Jeff Zucker (appearing as himself) offers him a primetime slot against ABC’s Lost , his eyes alight with wanton ambition.

He’s additionally a crazy narcissist, as evidenced by a plane ride in which a passenger, after praising To Catch a Predator with off-putting lustfulness, charms him by flattering his ego—thereby compelling Hansen to engage him in conversation.