Venice Film Festival audiences went fully in for Robert Pattinson‘s immersive performance as “To Catch a Predator” host Chris Hansen in “Primetime,” which debuted on Saturday afternoon to an enthusiastic seven-minute standing ovation.
And one of the biggest fans in attendance? Pattinson’s partner Suki Waterhouse, who cheered perhaps loudest after the credits rolled and leaned forward to kiss Pattinson as the crowd applauded his tour-de-force performance. (In Venice, actors are seated in the front row of the balcony and their partners must sit a row behind them.) As the ovation stretched into its sixth minute, the audience began chanting for director Lance Oppenheim and singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers, who makes her acting debut in the film.
Based on Luke Dittrich’s 2007 Esquire article “Tonight on Dateline This Man Will Die,” “Primetime” follows the production of the popular series, in which Hansen attempted to confront child sexual predators in complex sting operations. Backed by A24, “Primetime” debuted in competition and will compete for the Golden Lion. The movie marks Oppenheim’s feature debut, having previously helmed acclaimed documentaries such as “Some Kind of Heaven” and HBO’s “Ren Faire.”
