The Public

2019

122 mins

Directed by Emilio Estevez
65%
39%
Drama

A sit-in by patrons at a public library escalates into a police standoff in this David versus Goliath, feel-good drama... More

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)

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The Public | Ratings & Reviews

65_%96 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes® rating
39_%480 reviews
Audience score rating

"Consistently engages despite the relative obviousness of its dramatic tactics."

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Variety

"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 Yorker

"Estevez does an elegant job with this setup, creating a low-key, uncondescending portrait of lives on the edge."

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The New York Times

"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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Sydney Morning Herald

"A confident and compelling social issues drama."

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Stuff

"[A]n often implausible, stacked deck of social issues, contrived conflicts and feel-good activism."

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Los Angeles Times

"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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