Lance Oppenheim’s narrative directorial debut is a fascinating look into the murky waters of reality TV writes Carter Smith
Do the ends ever justify the means? This question sits at the centre of Lance Oppenheim’s narrative directorial debut, and its answer, like To Catch a Predator, is hard to pin down.
Reality TV is a cesspit. It doesn’t matter if it’s Chris Hansen or Love Island; at their core, it is entertainment at the expense of others. We love it. We can’t get enough of it. Each time we tune into a new episode, we want more drama than the last. It’s the same reason most people skip the challenges on The Traitors. No one cares; let’s get to the juicy stuff.
2006 was a big year for reality TV, and To Catch a Predator was a big reason for that before the infamous incident, which marked the end of the show. It’s in this series of events that this film takes place. Hansen and crew had made it to primetime, and they were not going to stop until they were the biggest show on TV.
Regardless of what you think of the exploitation at the centre of the show, I think it’s fair to say Hansen started with good intentions. Journalist by trade, there was a clear passion for uncovering the truth in the world, and how better to do that than to expose the scummy predators who walk among us. However, when the views start piling in, and you’re competing against TV heavy hitter Lost, the quest for ratings was always going to end in catastrophe. If not Bill Conradt, it would have been someone else.
It’s in this sentiment where Primetime impressed me the most. It depicts the shows and the people involved descending into madness excellently. The higher they rose, the more they lost their core principles. It was no longer about catching any old predator; it was about catching the most depraved and higher-end predators. They needed a whale. In the search for one, set-up stings were disregarded, and awful humans were able to get away because an ordinary paedophile was no longer of interest to the studio or the public. Of course, searching for more depraved individuals isn’t a bad thing. One less pedo on the street is always a good thing, but is it worth it if many others slip through the cracks?
I think ultimately what this film does best is showing how everyone was complicit when it comes to reality TV, and we continue to be. The studios meddling with people’s lives are to blame; the public’s thirst for drama is equally as damaging, and Hansen’s self-importance is to blame.
Primetime isn’t interested in depicting Hansen as a villain, and neither should it. Morally bankrupt and a tad unstable, sure, but it is a captivating look into a man who turns from journalist to a man who believes he is cleansing the world. A look inside someone who starts to believe in his own hype and further descends into the morally grey.
This is thanks to Robert Pattinson, who is giving a career-best performance: utterly deranged, eerie, energetic and his accent work is at inch-perfect precision. He sets the tone for what is arguably the best-performed film of this decade. Merritt Wever is excellent as the callous producer; Matthew Maher excels as the online vigilante, and Skyler Gisondo brings the humanity as the thrown-to-the-wolves decoy who entraps the predators.
If you are well-versed in Hansen lore, I’m not sure how much new information is being added to the conversation here. If you are looking for an extra look into the events which take place, I would highly recommend reading the Esquire article called Tonight on Dateline This Man Will Die, which this film is based on.
Irrespective of what you think of Oppenheim’s messaging, it is undeniable that this man knows how to create a visual identity. The way it embodies the early 2000s TV aesthetic and how, in doing so, it blurs the line between what is real and what is fantasy is mesmerising. Don’t worry, everyone, there is still hope for colours in movies as long as Oppenheim and Jane Schoenbrun are around.
It’s a film that you have to see to grasp. No amount of reading reviews or listening to discourse will help you discover what you will think of the movie. You have to see it, believe it and sit down for yourself to see how it looks to you.
- Primetime is currently available to watch in UK cinemas
