Parents' Guide to Primetime

Even if this fact-based movie, reeking of ickiness and anxiety, can't quite get to the heart of the matter, it goes full-tilt in its skillfully garish, bleary staging, lighting, and coloring. Primetime was filmed with a narrow aspect ratio, and characters are frequently behind windows or reflected in gleaming walls, compressed, compacted, and claustrophobic. The movie's texture is fuzzy and grungy, feeling less like 2006 and more like early-1980s smeary video or even shaggy 1970s production design. The lighting is either too bright or too dim, featuring colors not found in nature. It's strikingly effective work, as the resulting mood is unmistakable, but whether it's in service of the story is up for debate.

It's hard to know who Hansen really is aside from his belief and his drive and the fact that he neglects his family; his most personal moments are based in stress. Plus it's hard to understand the popularity of the Predator show from what we see here. It's all entrapment and coercion. Of course it's possible that some evil acts were prevented, but it's impossible to know for sure. One thing is clear: Weaver gives a memorable performance as Chris' producer, canny and quick-thinking but at the end of her rope. In the end, Primetime may not be enjoyable or even personal, but it effectively suggests a portrait of something squirmy inside the human condition.