The Public
2018 · Movie · PG-13 · 122 min · ★ 6.5 · 56% critics
On a bitterly cold night, a group of unhoused people seek refuge by staying inside a downtown public library, turning a peaceful act into a tense standoff with police and intense media attention. As pressure mounts from officials and public opinion, the situation sparks debate about compassion, justice, and who public spaces are really for.
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Details
- Years
- 2018
- Release date
- 2019-04-05
- Language
- English
- Rated
- PG-13
- Runtime
- 122 min
- Critic score
- 56/100
- TMDB rating
- 6.5/10 (85 votes)
- Box office
- $694,750
About
You’ll likely enjoy this if you want a heartfelt, discussion-starting drama about homelessness, public institutions, and standing up to bureaucracy, with some humor amid tension; Not for you if you dislike message-driven stories or plot holes.
Pros: timely social message; strong ensemble performances; moving and uplifting | Cons: simplistic, clichéd writing; uneven, implausible moments; heavy-handed politics
Themes
- library
- affectation
- cincinnati
- angry
- absurd
- admiring
- adoring
- ambiguous
- ambivalent
- amused
- assertive
- audacious
- +3 more
Cast & crew
Alec Baldwin
as Detective Bill Ramstead
Taylor Schilling
as Angela
Emilio Estevez
as Stuart
Jena Malone
as Myra
Christian Slater
as Josh Davis
Jacob Vargas
as Ernesto Ramirez
Gabrielle Union
as Rebecca Parks
- DP
Derek Polen
as William Larsen
Michael Kenneth Williams
as Jackson
Jeffrey Wright
as Anderson
Directed by Emilio Estevez