Robert Pattinson extends his 2026 winning streak with a superb lead performance in Primetime.
After note-perfect performances in The Drama and The Odyssey, and ahead of a hotly anticipated performance in Dune: Part Three, Pattinson stars in director Lance Oppenheim’s film as the legendary To Catch a Predator host, Chris Hansen.
What is ‘Primetime’ about?
Primetime finds Hansen and his show on the rise in 2006.
The show has captured the nation’s attention, and NBC leadership, who move it up to a primetime slot, putting it up against a drama called Lost – heard of it?
For those who don’t know, To Catch a Predator saw child predators lured by decoy actors into a working television production, where Hansen would spring a trap on them before the police step in.
In Primetime, Hansen becomes obsessed with making the show the biggest on television and capturing a ‘white whale,’ such as a predator in a position of power.
Meanwhile, Skyler Gisondo’s Dan Plum is an aspiring actor dropped in as a new decoy, who becomes surprisingly adept at impersonating a 13-year-old.
There’s also Merritt Wever’s Andie Bender, the show’s producer fighting for recognition from Hansen amid a work offer from a competing reality programme.
Big swings that pay off
Pattinson makes Hansen a larger-than-life character with a swing-for-the-fences performance.
In every scene, every shot, he does something surprising, intense, and gripping.
Hansen comes across as an ego-driven, emotions-on-the-surface crusader hell-bent on catching as many child predators as possible.
His intensity is a bellwether for the rest of the film, which incorporates dark, atmospheric lighting, complex colour arrangements and a blend of cameras – including colonoscopy cameras – to create dream-like psychedelic sequences and set pieces that pay homage to the aesthetic of noughties television.
It makes for a quietly gripping exploration of moral ambiguity and an exposé of the ethical compromises fuelling fame and the entertainment machine.
The latter is perfectly encapsulated by sparkling supporting performances from Gisondo and Weaver, who rise to the bar Pattinson sets.
Parts of Primetime don’t fully satisfy, such as Hansen’s infidelity B-plot, which has little meat on the bones, and a slightly meandering main story.
These are minor niggles, though, for a film that succeeds in feeling seedy, tense, dark-humoured, and morally complex.
Rating: 8/10
READ NEXT – Film news: Robert Pattinson and Nicholas Hoult emerge as James Bond candidates
