PRIMETIME tells the story of Chris Hansen (Robert Pattinson, who has well-proven he’s more than just the guy from TWILIGHT) of Dateline NBC and how his show “To Catch A Predator” (a reality show about luring child predators to a fake home where they’ll ultimately be arrested) rose to fame, while his personal life begins falling apart. Hansen and his producer Andie Bender (Merritt Wever) are given a shot at the big time when NBC tells them they’re going to take a huge risk and put them on opposite the hit series LOST, which was a major TV success in the early 2000s. Their show does well, but the ratings game is fierce, and they face constant pressure of finding ways to make it bigger and more exciting. Once they hire young actor Dan Plumb (Skyler Gisondo) to be their new lead “decoy” for the set ups, Dan realizes his shot at the big time may be more than he bargained for, and starts to question if he’s made the right decision. All of this builds to a “big fish” that could really give the show the edge it needs to win the ratings war… but at what cost? And Hansen’s personal life presents new challenges that he neglects to reveal to those who really should know about it.

PRIMETIME isn’t just a movie about the rise to fame of “To Catch A Predator” on NBC, but rather a study of three people closely connected to it. There is the main story of Chris Hansen as the host, trying desperately to make an impactful name for himself and get the ratings the network craves, all while dealing with an extramarital affair and (at times) what seem like self-doubt. But it also focuses on his producer Andie Bender and her having a hard time controlling Chris and the show, in addition to her weighing a tempting offer from another network.  And then there’s the hired actor Dan Plumb who is having doubts on whether or not his new gig with the show is really a smart decision for his career. The filming of “Predator” is more of a backdrop for these three perspectives, which might surprise some expecting it to be a narrative solely about the making of the show. It’s also a movie that shows the sometimes ugly side of programming something with what seems like good intentions, but what’s really the motivations behind it that make it more questionable. People have criticized the movie without seeing it due to the real Chris Hansen’s comments on how he wasn’t consulted and thought it took too many liberties. This isn’t a biopic, but rather an observation of media and the people who put it together, at times it is definitely an unflattering portrayal of the man at the center of it, and begs us to ask moral questions about how things are handled.

Director Lance Oppenheim frames all of this as more of an almost psychological horror movie than a straightforward analysis of real life events. There are trippy shots with weird lighting and sound, making some of the proceedings feel at times like a fever dream. Robert Pattinson is excellent in the lead, really capturing the broadcast stylings of Hansen’s voice and mannerisms in expert form, but also finding the darker edge for the character, never once painting him as some sort of righteous hero. It’s a masterful reading for the already impressive actor, and definitely deserves all the praise it’s getting. Merritt Wever feels a little more out of place here as Hansen’s conflicted producer, seeming at times too stressed for the job at hand, which makes it seem odd that she doesn’t immediately take the alluring offer another network is presenting to her. I’ve seen Wever do great work in other productions, but the script doesn’t service her character enough to leave much of an impression.

The film is peppered with great performers in small roles, like Anna Faris as Hansen’s wife, Jessica Hecht as the competing network’s executive, Matthew Maher as Predator’s idea man and tech guru, and even Jeff Zucker playing himself as the head of NBC here. Bokeem Woodbine has fun playing a Texas sheriff very eager to bring down the bad guys, and Alex Winter plays a rather nasty individual quite well later in the story – I honestly didn’t realize it was him, he’s such a chameleon of an actor at times. But it’s Skyler Gisondo who really shines brightest here as Dan Plumb, the unwitting young actor who takes on the gig of being Hansen’s “in house” decoy when the actual predators show up. The range of emotions he goes through is wild, and in many ways he’s the logical eyes for the audience as we take this rollercoaster ride – it’s a terrific performance that deserves immense respect.

PRIMETIME starts strong and has a solid first half, but loses its footing as it continues and leaves us with a rough and rather bleak finale. The payoff doesn’t quite earn what it’s shooting for, and results in an ambitious film that is carried by strong acting, but a less-than-memorable finish. I appreciated what they tried to do with it, and I think it definitely contains smart and engaging commentary on how TV ratings can drive ideas into dark territory, sometimes making the program itself questionable and morally ambiguous. Was Chris Hansen a hero, or a “good guy”? Maybe, but you ultimately must ask yourself if he did it to help people, or just to make a name for himself, and those sorts of questions can be very difficult to process. I would recommend seeing the movie for the performances alone, but I don’t expect it to become an instant classic.

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