People don't plan to be villains in real life. They don't plan to destroy others, but when success and fame are within your reach, sometimes you make decisions that unexpectedly take you through a moral transformation, turning you from a hunter to a killer.
Those are the thoughts I had floating in my head after watching the true crime drama “Primetime.” American director Lance Oppenheim has made two documentaries in the past six years, but this third feature film from him is his first time presenting a fictional, dramatized story, and this film is the most provocative one I've seen this year.
“Primetime” is a behind-the-scenes look of the infamous TV program “To Catch a Predator,” a hidden camera show that would capture alleged real-life pedophiles who entered an anonymous home to meet underage teens they connected with on the internet,
“To Catch a Predator” first began on TV as part of the Dateline news program on NBC. It only ran for two seasons between 2004 and 2007, but it made a significant mark in reality TV programming. Or, perhaps more specifically, it made a significant bruise in this programming.
The film explores the lives of three people working on “To Catch a Predator,” a young man playing a teenage decoy in front of the camera, a producer managing details behind the camera, and the host Chris Hanson, who became a household name through his crusading role as a confident defender of goodness.
The screenplay is partly based on the Esquire magazine article "Tonight on Dateline: This Man Will Die,” published in 2007, written by Luke Dittrich. “Primetime” is a graceful descent into ethical bankruptcy, forcing viewers to ask, "What is a predator? What counts as predatory behavior? And where do people end up when entertainment and law enforcement converge in front of a camera crew?”
“To Catch a Predator” is also the subject of a 2025 documentary named “Predators,” which more deftly examines the history and ripple effects of the show, “Primetime,” however, feels more like a psychological thriller focused more on the mental consequences the three main characters go through for the sake of viewership, popularity, and praise.
Make no mistake, this film is not for the faint of heart. “Primetime” has numerous moments of dialog containing disturbing sexual material. It's perverse and unsettling. I felt so uncomfortable watching this. There were numerous times I felt too nervous to move in my seat.
Although this director has a background in documentary filmmaking, “Primetime” has the surprisingly stylized look of a voyeuristic Neo-noir picture. A lot of faces are shown in extreme close-ups here, peering over TV monitors or staring through cracked doorways. Faces are washed in chilly blues and vibrant reds, almost like our main characters are under the alluring, destructive glow of the TV screen. Although this film is set 20 years ago,
“Primetime” feels like a contemporary tragedy of American acclaim or American power created through the operations of the media.
It's similar to the films “Nightcrawler” from 2014 or “The Apprentice” from 2024. So many adults should watch this film, especially those of us who love reality TV. Many of today's reality shows are influenced by what's in this film since this whole subgenre of TV shares the same seed of exploitation.
I felt dirty after watching “Primetime” but I also felt grateful to have witnessed the difficult and important questions it presents.
For Flicks at 48, I'm Casey T. Allen.
