REEL TALK: Ben O’Shea reviews Primetime.

4 stars

STARRING: Robert Pattinson, Merritt Wever, Skyler Gisondo, Phoebe Bridgers

RATING: MA15+

IN CINEMAS: Now

Considering the viral omnipresence of everything to do with the Epstein Files, it’s hard to watch Primetime and not think Chris Hansen’s biggest failing was being ahead of his time.

The American TV journalist rose to prominence, and then infamy, as host of To Catch a Predator, a reality show that used adult actors posing as children to lure potential pedophiles to a house littered with hidden cameras.

Once the subject of the sting was inside, the “child” would make some excuse to leave the room and Hanson would appear with a camera crew to confront the predator, grilling him on his intentions and predilections.

The perp was often arrested, sometimes in dramatic fashion, as they attempted to leave the house.

The show was cancelled in 2008 after a shocking incident — no spoilers — that led to a monster lawsuit against NBC.

If you knew nothing else, this would make for a fascinating biopic, but Primetime elevates the material further by the canny casting choice of Robert Pattinson as Hansen.

The former Twilight heartthrob has quietly become one of the most interesting actors of his generation (see: The Lighthouse and Mickey 17), and here he gives a transformative turn to depict Hansen as a driven but deeply flawed character.

Unlikeable, almost, which would typically hurt a film such as this, but Pattinson is so engrossing on screen that you can’t take your eyes off him.

Credit director Lance Oppenheim for creating a lurid backdrop that serves to heighten Pattinson’s performance, and Merritt Wever (Nurse Jackie) who is an excellent foil as Hansen’s long-suffering but equally unscrupulous producer.

Oppenheim, for those keeping score at home, will be back on the big screen in the not-too-distant future as co-director of Nathan Fielder’s uber-hyped Elizabeth Holmes meta-doco, You Can See Everything.

The filmmaker apparently got a bit of the Fielder pixie dust sprinkled on Primetime, too, by asking his buddy to take a look at the film and offer advice on edits.

It’s impossible to know how the film would’ve turned out otherwise, but one suspects you’d still be left in awe of Pattinson.

The English actor has had quite the year, starring in The Drama, The Odyssey, this, and, a bit later on, Dune: Part Three.

An astonishing body of work (assuming the final Dune installment lives up to its predecessors), and you get the feeling his best work is yet to come.