Robert Pattinson plays a fictionalized version of Chris Hansen in Primetime, the narrative feature debut of director Lance Oppenheim. The film premiered September 5 at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, where it competes for the Golden Lion. A24 opens it in U.S. theaters on September 25.
Oppenheim adapted the screenplay, written by Ajon Singh, from a 2007 Esquire article titled "Tonight on Dateline This Man Will Die" by Luke Dittrich. The film takes a heightened, hallucinatory approach to the production of To Catch a Predator, the Dateline NBC series that made Hansen a divisive cultural figure.
Pattinson produced the film alongside Ari Aster. The supporting cast includes Merritt Wever, Skyler Gisondo, Bokeem Woodbine, Anna Faris, and Phoebe Bridgers in her acting debut. Jeff Zucker appears as himself.
The critical response has placed Pattinson squarely in the Best Actor conversation. According to the Hollywood Reporter, his performance ranks as the "most locked-in performance of its kind since Jake Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler." The film holds a 96% score on Rotten Tomatoes from 23 critics and a 74 on Metacritic. According to Wikipedia, the real Hansen declined a private screening, questioning "Hollywood's motive" before refusing to sign a nondisclosure agreement.
Primetime runs 110 minutes. The 83rd Venice International Film Festival continues through September 12.
