Primetime Review
For a program that only lasted 20 episodes over 3 years, it’s hard to state how much of a cultural impact Dateline NBC spin-off To Catch A Predator made within that brief window of time. The problem is that while it exposed the real threat of child predators preying on children online, the show’s brand of pseudo-vigilantism masquerading as journalism is something that would garner major controversy on its own. That is the area in which documentarian Lance Oppenheim explores in his feature debut, Primetime, a film as captivating as it is nauseating. Based on a 2007 long-form Esquire article, Primetime is a heavily dramatized depiction of the events that would ultimately lead to the show’s cancellation. For the uninitiated, it operated on a simple premise: A team would pose as a minor in chat rooms, talking to would-be predators and convincing them to meet in person. After a brief meeting with a decoy, Chris Hansen, portrayed by Robert Pattinson, would then confront and shame the... Read more
For a program that only lasted 20 episodes over 3 years, it’s hard to state how much of a cultural impact Dateline NBC spin-off To Catch A Predator made within that brief window of time. The problem is that while it exposed the real threat of child predators preying on children online, the show’s brand of pseudo-vigilantism masquerading as journalism is something that would garner major controversy on its own. That is the area in which documentarian Lance Oppenheim explores in his feature debut, Primetime, a film as captivating as it is nauseating.Based on a 2007 long-form Esquire article, Primetime is a heavily dramatized depiction of the events that would ultimately lead to the show’s cancellation. For the uninitiated, it operated on a simple premise: A team would pose as a minor in chat rooms, talking to would-be predators and convincing them to meet in person. After a brief meeting with a decoy, Chris Hansen, portrayed by Robert Pattinson, would then confront and shame the
... Read more
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