Vague Visages’ Primetime review contains minor spoilers. Lance Oppenheim’s 2026 movie features Robert Pattinson, Merritt Wever and Skyler Gisondo. Check out the VV home page for more film criticism, movie reviews and film essays.

An up-and-coming actor tackling a lurid topic like sexual predators might be a deadly risk. That’s not the case, however, if you’re Robert Pattinson under the direction of Lance Oppenheim. As an adaptation of Luke Dittrich’s September 2007 Esquire feature “Tonight on Dateline This Man Will Die,” Primetime captures the meteoric rise of Chris Hansen — the host of the NBC series To Catch a Predator (2004-07) — and the show’s swift decline after a sting operation to catch a high-profile predator results in the suicide of that target. This is a cautionary tale, where one either punishes or receives punishment. Pattinson emerges as the victor, as each outlandish Primetime scenario keeps the idiosyncratic actor on his toes, leading to a performance that’s farcical in nature, all whilst in service of a deeper exposure of the disturbing hypocrisy of American monoculture and media at large.

Primetime displays Hansen’s rise to stardom as a news reporter and series host who will stop at nothing to achieve high ratings, and thus puts his family relationships in peril. The host’s collaborators — producer Andie Bender (Merritt Wever), Perverted-Justice founder Xavier Von Erck (Matthew Maher) and actress Del Harvey (musician Phoebe Bridgers) — facilitate the first contact between Hansen and the wayward predatory souls. The host feels zealously determined to cleanse thee deviants from the most troubled sections of America’s working-class society while attracting a large television following. Following successful sting operations, the show’s operations expand, adding another young actor to serve as predator bait, Dan Plum, aka Decoy Dan (Skyler Gisondo). Naive in both manner and appearance, the man finds himself serving as both Hansen’s protégé and cat’s paw. Dan proves critical for the host’s larger ambitions — the entrapment of a “major player — which leads to the self-destruction of Bill Conradt (Alex Winter), an assistant district attorney from the Dallas–Fort Worth area. The crescendo is so dispiriting to the American psyche that even skeptics worry about judging the accused predator.

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Taken at face value, Primetime’s premise appears obvious, but the genius of Oppenheim’s vison lies not within the film’s plot, but rather in the aesthetics and dynamically opposing character relationships. These interactions evolve by transactional necessity and the half-truths which subjugate these characters, keeping their sanity and emotional despair in check. At the center of it all is the question which hangs over them — who is the real Chris Hansen?

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Pattinson interprets Hansen as a spectrum of emotions, inserting a haunting ghoulish quality. He exhibits relationships of convenience, not friendship, aside from his character’s genuine love of his wife and sons which succumbs to his passion for success. Hansen takes delusionary pride in being a high-ranking moral arbiter. All throughout, Pattinson keeps the momentum of the film going as Hansen is quick to lay down the hammer on those he deems morally unjust, never flinching at even the most ridiculing remark that comes from his mouth. And, as the subject’s power increases, so does his ego, even demanding immediate service from a vending machine company, based solely on the name Hansen.

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Meanwhile, Gisondo’s Dan Plum and Wever’s Andie Bender serve as the polar extremes of Hansen’s weathered psyche. Pattinson’s character mentors Dan like Batman grooms Robin, even selling him on the notion that his role is not one of actor, but of a righteous, mission-driven hero. For his part, Gisondo rises to the challenge of this character by aligning his recognizable Jimmy Olsen persona (Superman, 2025) to Oppenheim’s unrestricted sense of humor. Running opposite, Wever’s approach to Andie is one of power struggle and self–prioritizing, as the woman treats Hansen like a man-child who needs constant grooming and attention, and at no time does it feel that either character has the upper hand over the other. Both Pattinson and Wever play the relationship down the middle as if they were a couple out of a crime movie.

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If there’s one aspect of Primetime which proves lacking, it’s Bridgers’ portrayal of Del Harvey — another young decoy who entraps predators. Though Oppenheim delivers on a strong female presence, Bridgers’ character is undercooked throughout, even though her primary purpose is merely cannon fodder. She does share a few strong lines with Dan, ones that hint at the harsher truths of living such persistently debasing and transactional lifestyles.

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There are several moments in Primetime when presumably significant statements made by Pattinson and Wever are not clearly audible. The softening of their voices and lowering of their tones may be deliberate attempts at dramatic emphasis, but Oppenheim still fails with his approach. What works, though, are the cinematic techniques which the director employs to mirror the action of the film. The best example is when Oppenheim applies the wormhole effect as Hansen and the Perverted-Justice team narrow in on the identity of a high-profile predator.

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Despite being a game-changer for Pattinson’s career, Primetime has a long road ahead of it prior to awards season. Beyond its visceral impact and sharp-witted jabs at the American criminal justice system, there’s no overlooking the mental stigma that Hansen’s Dateline show leaves in its wake, and the families still haunted by the events that unfolded. David Otis’ 2025 documentary Predators sheds light on how many decoy actors still suffer from lingering emotions. At its’ best, Primetime prompts viewers to reevaluate society’s multimedia viewing interests and a decadent urge to witness vice. Secondarily, it awakens audiences to the toll such tabloid crime shows may have on any television personality. Regarding catharsis as well as enlightenment, Primetime is worth a watch, but it shouldn’t be considered the end of the “conversation” nor entertainment.

Peter Bell (@PeterGBell25) is a 2016 Master of Arts – Film Studies graduate of Columbia University School of Arts in New York City. His interests include film history, film theory and film criticism. Ever since watching TCM as a child, Peter has had a passion for film, always trying to add greater context to film for others. His favorite films include Chinatown, Blade Runner, Lawrence of Arabia, A Shot in the Dark and Inception. Peter believes movie theaters are still the optimal forum for film viewing, discussion and discovering fresh perspectives on culture.

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