Robert Pattinson’s Primetime receives a seven-minute standing ovation at Venice

Robert Pattinson’s performance as Chris Hansen earned a seven-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival, with the audience continuing to cheer as his partner, Suki Waterhouse, leaned forward to kiss him.

The crowd also chanted for director Lance Oppenheim and singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers, who makes her acting debut in the film. Pattinson, Bridgers and co-star Skyler Gisondo later signed autographs and posed for selfies with fans.

Produced by A24, Primetime follows the production of the television series in which Hansen confronted suspected child sexual predators through complex sting operations. The film draws on Luke Dittrich’s 2007 Esquire article, Tonight on Dateline This Man Will Die.

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overly dramatic

The real-life Hansen has expressed scepticism about the film and described Pattinson’s portrayal as “overly dramatic”. Responding at a press conference, Pattinson said: “Obviously, I hope he likes the movie. There’s something electrifying about him. I would hope the amount of inspiration his character has given a lot of people for years is some kind of compliment.”

Primetime debuted in competition and will compete for the Golden Lion. It marks Oppenheim’s feature debut after his documentaries Some Kind of Heaven and HBO’s Ren Faire. Pattinson is also filming The Batman: Part II, in which he will reprise his role as Bruce Wayne.

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Obviously, I hope he likes the movie. There’s something electrifying about him. I would hope the amount of inspiration his character has given a lot of people for years is some kind of compliment.