Lance Oppenheim's ‘Primetime’ Starring Robert Pattinson Received a 7-Minute Standing Ovation at Venice International Film Festival

Primetime is a dark psychological drama inspired by the television phenomenon To Catch a Predator, starring Robert Pattinson as its host, Chris Hansen. Set around the show’s rise in 2006, the film eventually builds towards the infamous sting operation in Murphy, Texas. It also marks a major stepping stone for Lance Oppenheim as his first narrative feature film.

Robert Pattinson leaves us in awe once again this year with another deeply immersive performance. He plays Chris Hansen as a man increasingly obsessed with catching predators online. The film suggests that Hansen himself is being psychologically affected by the incredibly dark material he is exposed to through the work, and as the show becomes more popular, that obsession becomes increasingly consuming. Pattinson already looks like a serious Best Actor contender for Primetime, while his performance in The Odyssey could also keep him in the Supporting Actor conversation.

The film includes some of the best acting I’ve seen this year, especially from Skyler Gisondo as Dan Plumb. Dan is an aspiring young adult actor hired to pose as a minor during the show’s stings, and his storyline examines both the psychological strain of doing this work and the questionable media ethics surrounding it. Gisondo gives one of the film’s standout performances.

On top of that, David Bolen’s cinematography might be even more enticing than the plot itself. The film constantly traps you inside nightmarishly claustrophobic frames, mixing polished cinematic imagery with the unsettling look of surveillance cameras and early-2000s television, all surrounded by unnerving colours.

The film received a 7-Minute Standing Ovation in Sala Grande, where Robert Pattinson's partner Suki Waterhouse was also present to support him at the premiere.