As an extreme cold front hits Cincinnati, Ohio, a group of homeless people, led by Jackson (Michael K. Williams), refuse to leave the library because local shelters are at full capacity. Librarians, Stuart (Emilio Estevez) and Myra (Jena Malone), finds themselves caught in the middle of a standoff between the homeless patrons and the local police, led by detective Ramstead (Alec Baldwin), who is acting as the crisis negotiator.
It takes about 40 minutes until that premise of The Public really kicks into gear. Before all that drama begins, the film spends a lot of time setting up the characters, their day-to-day routines, as well as conflicts that inform certain dynamics, be it Stuart’s fling with his neighbor, Angela (Taylor Schilling), a lawsuit against the library that puts Stuart in a bad position, the local prosecutor, Josh (Christian Slater), trying to run a campaign for mayor, or even Ramstead’s attempts to find his missing son, who became addicted to drugs.
Emilio Estevez not only acts as our lead, but is also the writer and director. He’s no stranger to exploring socio-political themes with his previous directorial efforts like The War At Home, Bobby, and the documentary, Culture Clash in AmeriCCa. With The Public, he casts a pretty wide net in exploring the problem with homelessness in America, and the lack of resources given to them. It does play a bit too broad, trying to tackle many different elements, especially when it comes to how politics and media come into play. Even details about characters like Josh and Ramstead ultimately feel extraneous and unnecessary for the bigger picture, which already runs a skosh too long.
The film isn’t particularly subtle about its messaging, but that is something I don’t really consider a problem. Although, the way it will bend over backwards to give every character beat and plot point greater thematic significance can be a bit over-the-top, sort of like what Adam McKay does with films like The Big Short or Vice, but significantly less stylized. I also find it a bit counter-intuitive when a film that is all about the struggles of the homeless portrays most of its homeless characters as zany and quirky, with only the briefest moments of deeper humanity, which is rooted in the fact that the film has a hard time balancing so many characters.
Despite that, the performances are rock solid. For a fairly low profile movie, the cast is stacked. In addition to the ones already mentioned, there’s also Gabrielle Union, Jeffrey Wright, Ki Hong Lee, and Richard T. Jones, among many others. Everyone is rock solid here, with no one feeling off or out of place. The roles might not be as meaty as they could, but they do a good job in grounding the characters, allowing for the poignant moments to really come through in an effective and emotionally truthful way.
There is a lot of clumsiness in the structuring of The Public, but it’s a film that clearly has a lot of passion, and that passion can be felt in practically every frame. I think there is a necessity for movies like this that can earnestly address issues in a very direct way, and while it is definitely not perfect in its execution, it says something that deserves to be heard. It’s an engaging watch with some amusing detours, playful performances, and a truly bizarre and fascinating payoff to the standoff. It has its charms, and there are points where you can’t help but get sucked into it, especially given its emphasis on encouraging the pursuit of social justice and civil disobedience.