'Primetime' review: Robert Pattinson stars in unsettling 'To Catch a Predator' thriller

Chris Hansen's "To Catch a Predator" segments on "Dateline NBC" became a sensation in the mid-2000s. The format: Chat up a potential abuser over the internet, lure him to a house where a youthful-looking actor awaited, then pounce with television cameras and watch him squirm before releasing him to the cops. (The first broadcast sting, in 2004, took place in Bethpage.) It was lurid, lascivious and cruelly entertaining, outpacing most other "Dateline" shows in the ratings at one point.

"There used to be a pillory in every civilized town," Hansen explains in "Primetime," an unsettling thriller based on the show’s rise and fall. "Now there’s a television in every home."

"Primetime" centers on a terrific performance from Robert Pattinson, who plays Hansen as ambitious, vainglorious and a little ridiculous. He’s the kind of guy who trumpets his name to every caller, even his wife (Anna Faris). He envies his "Dateline" co-star Stone Phillips (Bill Heck), who’s out reporting on Afghanistan while Hansen is stuck with a crew that includes expert sex-chatter Xavier Von Erck (Matthew Maher), who founded the sting operation group Perverted-Justice, and a jaded young decoy named Del (pop star Phoebe Bridgers, rather good in a small part). An excellent Merritt Weaver plays the fictional Andie Bender, Hansen’s producer, handler and emotional support animal.

The film’s other fictionalized character is Dan Plum, a naive young actor played by an endearing Skyler Gisondo. "I think it’s largely improvisational," he says of his new role, unaware that he’s been enlisted to draw men to their doom. Plum may be inspired by real-life "Predator" decoy Dan Schrack, who came to regret his involvement with the 2006 events that provide the climax for this film. ("I’ve blocked that out," he told People magazine last year).

The real Hansen has expressed displeasure over this film. That's understandable, but Pattinson’s Hansen isn’t a pure villain, he’s a flawed guy trying to build a career with a show that’s on the side of good ... isn’t it? The answer won’t be clear at all after Hansen hooks his biggest fish yet, U.S. District Attorney Bill Conradt Jr. (Alex Winter, a long way indeed from his "Bill and Ted" movies).

Directed with a shivery touch by Lance Oppenheim, sharply written by first-timer Ajon Singh and photographed almost like a horror film by David Bolen, "Primetime" raises discomfiting questions about the media, morality, justice and Hanson’s willingness to conflate them all. "Who gave you permission to do this?" a cornered man demands of Hanson. It’s the one moment where the host doesn’t have an answer.

By Rafer Guzmán

rafer.guzman@newsday.com