Primetime Review: Robert Pattinson Is Magnetic, But the Story Never Lives Up to Its Opening Scene

This movie has everything except a feature length script, in my opinion. It feels very much like a brilliant short film that got the chance to become a feature, but there wasn't enough else to add, so it stretches for time. It would make an amazing short film, and in a sense it already is, since one of the best trailers of the year is taken almost entirely from the opening scene of the movie.

The Opening Scene Is the Best Part of the Film

That opening scene is the best scene in the film. Robert Pattinson's entrance got a chuckle from my press screening audience, and rightly so, because it is just so visceral and amazing. The problem is that the rest of the film never returns to that level, and I think that is an issue.

Lance Oppenheim Hasn't Fully Pivoted From Documentary Filmmaking

I think a lot of the problem stems from the fact that this is the first narrative feature from a documentary director. He is pivoting, and he hasn't fully pivoted yet. Not that he can't, he just hasn't done it fully. Lance Oppenheim is a good documentary director because he is one half of the creative team behind what everyone is saying is the documentary of the century.

I believe a good documentary director lets their subject reveal itself, leaning back, whereas a narrative director working with scripted material leans forward. This movie never leans forward.

Visual Tricks Keep Viewers Behind Glass, and the Script Robs the Story of Its Electricity

The film has a lot of visual tricks, most of them quite effective, but they make it feel like watching twenty year old TV footage. That puts the movie behind the thick glass of an old TV set, and I never really felt like I got inside it.

I'd argue that much of what made the real To Catch a Predator so electric when it aired came from its unscripted format. Turning that into a scripted film robs it of a lot of that electricity. Robert Pattinson can only do so much by himself, and I don't think he gets enough of an assist from the script, which is the weakest part of the film.

An Important, Promising Film That Drags in the Middle

I do actually like this movie. I think it is an important film, and a promising one for a lot of the people involved in front of and behind the camera, but it is kind of boring in the middle. I almost fell asleep a couple of times, it feels like watching TV very late at night, and then you wake up and think, "oh, this is so on." I would also say you should be prepared for how dark this movie is.

Is Chris Hansen a Predator Too? The Questions the Film Raises

The film raises pointed questions. Is it really appropriate for a show like To Catch a Predator to have a host at all? What exactly is Chris Hansen's role here, other than making himself famous, and who would want to be the face of this? What about the important contributions of the producer and the man running the sting operation that actually finds these predators?

The movie asks whether Hansen and his team are predators too, of course not to the same degree. I think what director Lance Oppenheim and his screenwriter are trying to point out is that the situation isn't as black and white as Hansen makes it out to be.

Does Doing Good for the Wrong Reasons Still Count as Heroism?

Should you be commended for doing good if you are doing it for the wrong reasons? Does heroism have to be a totally selfless act? Setting aside compensation, and the fact that we pay police officers to do dangerous work, should doing good lead to fame and fortune, and if that is truly why you are doing it, how do you separate the two motivations?

Hansen's character in the film certainly believes he is doing good, and I think there is an argument that he did do good, but at the same time it is so important to him that he be famous. It is a complicated, tricky question, particularly in this context with the crime being explored.

The Film Never Turns the Camera on Its Own Audience

The film focuses purely on the people making the TV show and the law enforcement side of the operation. It never dares to look at the audience, and I think that is an important part of the equation. What does it say about society that people were tuning in weekly to watch something this dark and disturbing? To Catch a Predator was never just about catching predators, it also let its audience dip a toe into that dark, disturbing world in a voyeuristic way.

A Disturbing Reminder That These Predators Are Everywhere

The film has a high level of disturbing, well, ick. It is a very disturbing movie, honestly a tough watch, not just because of what is said, some of the things they have Pattinson say were shocking, but because of how prolific these predators are. There are enough of them shown to supply multiple seasons and multiple episodes, and this is only the tip of the iceberg. They could be anyone, though here they are all depicted as male, whereas today's news shows plenty of female predators as well.

One brilliant moment comes when a character is placing an order at a Subway and we catch a glimpse of Jared, who of course turned out to be a predator himself, just to show how this is everywhere. I think the film's points could have been made in a stronger manner, but the fact that they are made at all is to its credit.

Chris Hansen Bought Ad Time to Run Before the Movie About Him

Chris Hansen himself, who is still alive, has said he bought ad time in front of this movie to direct audiences to his website and what he is currently up to, which feels very on brand for him, as the film itself shows. I don't think he needs to be nervous about the movie, though. If anything, I think the film is nervous about getting into trouble with Hansen, so it never really does a deep dive on him. It always keeps him at arm's length.

In the film, Hansen says that people who did bad things used to be dragged into the town square for all to see, and that now we have television, and, as he finds out with his own much more minor transgressions, the National Enquirer, which today would obviously be social media.

Ryan Murphy Could Have Done More With This Material

I keep coming back to Ryan Murphy with this one. He would have done a much better job placing To Catch a Predator, the real show, and Chris Hansen on the pop culture timeline, showing how this was just the beginning of a huge shift in entertainment. Murphy doesn't always hit the bullseye, but when he does it is incredible, and I would point to his miniseries about O.J. Simpson and the Menendez brothers as two examples with a similar quality that really impressed me.

I think this story could have reached that level, and it is a shame it doesn't, though just having a piece of that quality still makes it interesting enough as it is.

The Film's Best Scene After the Opening: Hansen Confronts a Predator

There is one incredible moment done entirely with lighting and acting, just two reverse shots and close-ups, of a very emotional Hansen confronting a predator. He sinks into a kind of hell on earth, but through the strength of his convictions, by exposing the predator, he comes back into the light. It is an incredible moment, and I would call it the second most impressive moment in the film after the opening scene.

I think at his core this is what Hansen wants to be remembered for, and there is a fair argument that it is part of his legacy, but it is more complicated than he would like it to be.

Robert Pattinson Is Magnetic, But Possibly Miscast

Robert Pattinson is absolutely magnetic here, as good as Christian Bale was as Patrick Bateman, and I am sure that performance inspired this one. The only reason this doesn't feel like more of a groundbreaking performance is that Pattinson is really third in line: there is Bale, then Jake Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler, and now Pattinson. He is not breaking new ground, but he deserves to stand alongside those other performances.

I think the only real issue is that Pattinson is miscast. He brings a lot of star power, talent and charisma, and most people will see this movie because of his performance, but he doesn't have the all American good old boy look that I think helped Hansen believe in himself, and helped others believe in him as this avenging angel, which is also why it was so shocking when Hansen eventually fell, both personally and professionally. His performance also reminds me a bit of early Nicolas Cage, someone equally mesmerizing who would have been equally miscast in this part.

A Strong Supporting Cast, and an Argument That Skyler Gisondo Is the True Lead

Pattinson is the bright shining star, but he is backed by a genuinely impressive ensemble. Merritt Wever has slowly been making a name for herself, largely in streaming, over the past couple of years. She is one of those actresses you just love, and this is a big step up for her to be in a movie opposite Pattinson.

I wish the film had explored more of how Hansen's star power and all American appeal are what got the show on the air and into prime time in the first place, maybe not for the most altruistic reasons, or not entirely, but still an important part of the story. The producer who actually makes the show happen is equally important. There is one line where she tells another producer that she herself is not a very nice person, implying she is drawn to the darkness, and by extension understands why the show appeals to an audience drawn to it too. I wish she had gotten a few scenes that explored that further, rather than just being told about it.

Skyler Gisondo, who plays Jimmy Olsen and has more high profile roles coming up, holds his own opposite Pattinson impressively, with very expressive eyes in a great performance. I would actually argue he is the true lead of the film. Pattinson sells the movie, but the character who goes through the most is Gisondo's. I don't want to give away more than that, but it is a very interesting performance, and I wonder if that bait and switch hurts the movie a little, since audiences show up for Pattinson and might wonder why they are spending so much time with another character, as good as he is.

The actor cast as the team member who does the online work of tracking these predators down is extremely well cast. The singer Phoebe Bridgers is getting a lot of praise for what I believe is her acting debut, and she is very good, playing the group's longtime decoy, an adult actor who can pass for someone underage to be the face of the trap. Gisondo plays someone brought in as a new decoy, and the film explores whether the team preys on him too, since he doesn't fully know what he is getting into.

It is also quite a treat to see Jeff Zucker, the real life former NBC executive, playing himself in a very good, honest scene, reenacting what turns out to be his fateful decision to put To Catch a Predator into prime time. I am impressed with how honest he is, though the scene does make him look pretty good.

Shockingly Good Casting Choices for the Predators Themselves

I really want to focus on who Oppenheim decided to cast as some of the predators, because I can't believe who he got for these roles. Alex Winter, of Bill and Ted fame, Tony Revolori, from the Spider-Man movies and Grand Budapest Hotel, people have already talked about him being a predator in the trailer, and Jonathan Lipnicki from Jerry Maguire. There are other predators too, all in some very dark, disturbing scenes, and these actors participate in that dark material as well.

Why cast recognizable faces like that? I think it is to show that these predators could be anyone, someone you know, maybe even someone you like, you just don't know them well enough. Alex Winter really disappears into his role, and as I watched him I kept thinking he looked so familiar, which I think is exactly the point of casting him.

Final Verdict: Worth Seeing, But I Wish It Had Taken a Position

This movie has a lot going on, it is a very complex, dark and disturbing situation, and it is interesting to think it was once entertainment. Documentaries do have perspectives, but this film puts things out there and never really takes a position, it is a little directionless. The movie has a lot of great tricks, like the casting choices and the visuals, which are absolutely incredible, but I wish it had more substance, that it dug deeper, and that it had been willing to take a position on Hansen and on the people who watched the show. I guess doing that would also mean judging the audience itself, so it hedges its bets a bit.

Still, I think it is an important movie, because this is an issue that hasn't gone away, and the real To Catch a Predator was influential in a shocking number of ways. I keep thinking Ryan Murphy could have done a lot with this story. This movie only runs two hours, while Murphy's miniseries had nine or ten hours to work with, which helps. Sometimes Murphy pads his series, but I think there was room within this runtime for more. I wish it had taken a position.

Primetime hasn't been very strong in the awards conversation this year, and after seeing it, I get why. But I still think it is worth seeing. It has some amazing performances, and it does get you thinking, even if the movie itself doesn't take a position, you can take one yourself and really think these things through. It is a very interesting film. I just wish it were a better one.

Do you think Chris Hansen and his team are predators too, or is that going too far?