Primetime – Movie Reviews by Ry!

Primetime – Morals in Late Night: A Character Tale

When you look at life, it becomes a place that builds upon reflections, desires and perspectives.  That push and pull creates situations that can build and unravel many paths.  This can lead to the creation of a strong story on the big screen, or a convoluted mess of a melodrama.  Either way, there is a tale to be told.  In this review, I look at the latest drama to hit the big screen.  Inspired by true events, Primetime is an invigorating drama that puts forth the question … what is the moral of the story?

At the height of television in the early 2000’s, one man’s desire for the number one show leads to an unsettling tale of power, purpose and morality.  Stories are a way to bring about the certainty of an escape.  No matter the genre, it becomes a place where the filmmakers pull upon one’s thread to see, hear and feel an array of emotions.  It is that strong will to thread convictions in a tale, but it becomes something more when that same tale is inspired by true events … like this film.  We begin this story through a behind the scenes like setup … witnessing how the show ‘To Catch a Predator’ goes through their motions to set sting operations to catch their suspects.  Through grounded conversations and tense scenes, we see how Chris Hansen (Robert Pattinson) levels out his own motives to drive home the reality of the moment.  After a montage of exposition, Hansen learns that his show will be given one of the main slots on NBC’s primetime schedule.  This leads to a series of events where he and the showrunners set a goal to catch the ultimate suspect (plot point).  To do this, they hire aspiring actor Dan Plum (Skyler Gisondo), to be one of their new decoys.  As Chris and Dan begin to work together (on the show), we move away from the general foundational set-up to a deepening character tale.  As each episode builds up the show’s ratings, it also leads through scenes that showcase themes of morality, power and motive.  As things seem great (on the TV front) there is an unraveling discord for Chris and Dan in their real lives, where the roots of desire start to break through the fragile nature of choice. This creates a raw grip for the audience, driving home the tension of the moment … but also the fragile psyche of a persons worth in the ideals of truth.

As the show continues to go head-to-head with some big late-night programs, certain dominos begin to fall.  This causes some unraveling for our main characters but also leads to a genuine reflection of the moral causes at play.  This adds another layer of retrospective, driving an indifference of what it means to achieve the ultimate ratings (on TV).  When certain truths come to light, we head into a third act that pulls at the fragility of our characters.  With everything on the line, we head into a tense climax and epilogue.  Primetime is a tense drama of thematic appeal.  If you are a fan of drama or character tales, this is one for you.  In the end, this can be a tense but fun time at the theaters. 

Full Score – 3.5 out of 5 (Theater Discount)