It’s time for the Movie Minute with Matinee Matt. This week’s flick: Primetime.
It’s masterful how the cast and crew take what could have been a paint-by-numbers drama and turn it into an edge-of-your-seat thriller.
Robert Pattinson is dialed in as Chris Hansen, with an uncanny performance that explores the darker side of the show’s outsized ambition — even if the portrayal gets turned up to 11 and occasionally veers toward caricature.
There’s surprising drama in the cutthroat politics of network television, where the hunger for ratings means almost nothing is off limits. Merritt Wever is compelling as a resourceful, ruthless producer, while Matthew Maher plays the keyboard warrior behind the stings.
One of the most intriguing storylines focuses on the young actors used as decoys and thrown into the deep end, including an exceptional Skyler Gisondo — plus a Phoebe Bridgers cameo.
Even the grainy, low-fi aesthetic recreates the look and feel of early-2000s television. These events played out years ago, but the level of craft makes it easy to lose yourself in the story.