Released: 28th June 2021
Length: 93 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Director: Jakub Piątek
Starring: Bartosz Bielenia, Magdalena Popławska and Andrzej Kłak
The modern thriller is often highly competitive territory for filmmaking. For every genre entry that joins the pantheon, it’s only getting harder to stage a breakout hit. Prime Time, the debut of director Jakub Piątek, aspires for realism but sacrifices the wider depth and context it could have had.
Set in Poland, a young man forms a plot to be broadcasted live on the air. Staring up at the towering TV studio, Sebastian (Bartosz Bielenia) has a message to deliver at the turn of the 21st Century; armed with a handgun, he enters an ongoing game show and takes two hostages (played by Magdalena Popławska and Andrzej Kłak respectively). The plot isn’t based on any real events, but even it was, Prime Time’s narrative offers very little engagement. Once he bursts into the studio, Sebastian’s plan devolves in a slow series of negotiations between himself and the authorities. On occasion we’ll cut to shots of other broadcasts in the countdown to the new year, but otherwise everything unfolds in one location. Unlike its genre contemporaries, Prime Time doesn’t make good on the gradual reveal of information. As the film begins, we have no idea why he wants to commit this act, but any viewer looking for answers will be disappointed. Even at the climax we learn so little about what he wants to say. At best, this flick does go for a more realistic tone; there are no outlandish twists or questionable decisions here. Yet without the depth to back it up, this story is constantly falling short.
The interactions between the three characters form the film’s backbone which range from tense to more conversational in nature. They are observed by the police who barricade the building and start to tease out Sebastian’s inner motives. None of the performances are outright bad, but they all beg for improved material. The biggest problem with Prime Time is how we’re confined to a single location and yet we learn next to nothing about the players involved. What kind of background does Mira come from? Outside of his job at the studio, who is Grezgorz as a person? The finer details are slim at best and this severely dilutes the tension. The exception to the rule is a painful injury inflicted towards the end; it’s the one spark of tension in an otherwise uneventful film. While Sebastian does have the most development, it doesn’t amount to much more than hints of possible mental illness; without a strong payoff, what could have been an understated, well realised performance instead rings hollow. Even a moment when his father is brought in doesn’t result in any grand reveal. On top of that, there is no dynamic between the police force outside of their base decision-making; their approaches never compete or clash which makes them feel like a part of the background rather than believable cast members.
With its vague message and shallow plot, Prime Time’s attempts to craft a more grounded thriller don’t amount to much. Apart from its passable acting, the film is incredibly bland and forgettable; it has little to distinguish itself outside of a novel setting close to the new millennium. There are many far superior thrillers that succeed at generating dramatic tension.
Rating: 2/5 Stars (Disappointing)
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