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The Public
2019 2h 2m PG-13
Drama
6.6
66%
78%
65%
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An act of civil disobedience turns into a standoff with police when homeless people in Cincinnati take over the public library to seek shelter from the bitter cold.
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Directed By
Emilio Estevez
Written By
Emilio Estevez
Studio
Hammerstone Studios
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E2 Films
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+ 3 more
Cast of The Public
Emilio Estevez
Stuart
Jena Malone
Myra
Taylor Schilling
Angela
Michael Kenneth Williams
Jackson
Alec Baldwin
Christian Slater
Gabrielle Union
Jeffrey Wright
Richard T. Jones
Jacob Vargas
Spencer Garrett
Brian Gallagher
Ming Wang
Female Asian Patron
Rhymefest
Ki Hong Lee
Patrick Hume
Susanna Thompson
Bryant Bentley
Nik Pajic
Jon Osbeck
Keith McGill
Nick Pirrmann
Reggie Willis
David Myers Gregory
Bret Aaron Knower
Core Homeless Man
Derek Polen
William Larsen
John E. Brownlee
Library Security
The Public Reviews
Detroit News
Adam Graham
It's a noble effort, but "The Public" never makes a convincing case for its cause.
Arizona Republic
Kerry Lengel
Well-intentioned parable about the plight of the homeless falls flat.
Rolling Stone
Peter Travers
Writer-director-star Emilio Estevez turns a library occupied by homeless citizens as ground zero for our under-fire democracy. Bravo!
Observer
Rex Reed
Its heart is in the right place, but because it's mired in too many of Estevez's questions about public duty versus public safety, The Public struggles to stay on track and keep the viewer involved.
RogerEbert.com
Nell Minow
Its presentation of real, painful issues is too simplistic and its approach too preachy.
San Francisco Chronicle
Mick LaSalle
Estevez, directing himself, knows what emotions Estevez, the actor, is trying to put over. He's the only one.
Washington Post
Michael O'Sullivan
It's hard to disagree with anything in "The Public." Estevez is fighting the good fight. But it's also hard to swallow an argument, however well-reasoned and emotionally compelling, when it feels like it's being shoved down your throat.
AARP Movies for Grownups
Thelma Adams
The story's moral has obviousness problems, the plot's predictable, and its sweetness will annoy as many as it pleases. But it's still warm, winsome and droll, and the spectacular cast fills underwritten roles with radiant star power.
The Jewish Chronicle
Linda Marric
The Public presents a heartening story of triumph of good over evil, but sadly lacks the gravitas one would usually expect from these types of stories.
FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
Peter Rainer
It's heart is in the right place in many ways, but it just outlines everything so clearly in red marker that it doesn't let you discovers things for yourself. Still, it's an estimable effort in some ways.
San Jose Mercury News
Randy Myers
Estevez's drama gets a little preachy in the second half, but "The Public" is passionate about its cause and the cast... deliver like the pros they are.
New Yorker
Anthony Lane
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.
New York Times
Ben Kenigsberg
Estevez does an elegant job with this setup, creating a low-key, uncondescending portrait of lives on the edge.
TheWrap
Tricia Olszewski
A clunky and at times ridiculous affair, taking a situation that might reasonably happen and turning it into something melodramatic and ultimately unbelievable.
Hollywood Reporter
Deborah Young
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.
Los Angeles Times
Gary Goldstein
[A]n often implausible, stacked deck of social issues, contrived conflicts and feel-good activism.
National Newspaper Publishers Association
Dwight Brown
Humorous, impactful and poignant. With a little extra tooling, it would also make a great Broadway play.
Slant Magazine
Keith Watson
The film is a clunky, overwritten attempt to pack as many tortured subplots and pre-chewed sociological insights as can possibly fit into a two-hour runtime.
Variety
Dennis Harvey
Consistently engages despite the relative obviousness of its dramatic tactics.
WBAI Radio
Prairie Miller
A mix of eloquence and satire, in this homeless mass uprising takeover of one of the last remaining US sanctuaries for bookworms and the homeless alike, the public library.
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