The Public
A sit-in by patrons at a public library escalates into a police standoff in this David versus Goliath, feel-good drama from and starring Emilio Estevez. Co-stars Alec Baldwin, Christian Slater and Jena Malone.
"It begins quietly enough in a Cincinnati library on a winter's day. Stuart (Estevez) and Myra (Malone) do their best to manage the daily assortment of knowledge seekers, loiterers, and homeless people who frequent their branch. It's freezing outside. As closing time draws near, Jackson (The Wire's Michael K. Williams) sparks an act of civil disobedience among his fellow library patrons who have nowhere to sleep. They refuse to leave, defying first the entreaties of the library staff, then a local political operative (Slater), and soon a team of riot police led by Detective Ramstead (Baldwin), a hard-charging crisis negotiator. Outside, a TV reporter (Gabrielle Union) juices up the story for the wider world." (Toronto International Film Festival)
Less2019Rating: M, Coarse language122 minsUSA
Drama
- Director:
- Emilio Estevez ('The Way', 'Bobby', 'The War at Home')
- Writer:
- Emilio Estevez
- Cast:
- Jena MaloneTaylor SchillingEmilio EstevezChristian SlaterGabrielle UnionMichael Kenneth WilliamsAlec BaldwinJeffrey Wright
The Public | Reviews
The New Yorker
The problem is, there's only just enough story to go round. You can hear the creak as both characters and subplots get jacked up out of proportion.
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The New York Times
Estevez does an elegant job with this setup, creating a low-key, uncondescending portrait of lives on the edge.
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Sydney Morning Herald
It's hard to play a good man doing the right thing. Saints are dramatically dull, but Estevez gets away with it here.
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Los Angeles Times
[A]n often implausible, stacked deck of social issues, contrived conflicts and feel-good activism.
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Hollywood Reporter
The dialogue often has a stilted, unnatural ring to it, and it is a tribute to the cast that they manage to bring out the essence of the film, its political heart, so strongly.
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