The Public is a excellent drama by writer, director, producer and star Emilio Estevez, whom I can scarcely believe is 56 years old!
It’s the story of the homeless community of Cincinnati who flock to the local public library for warmth, friendly faces and something to occupy their days. But when the days and nights turn bitterly cold, they stage a protest to try to secure permission to sleep in the library at night.
Estevez stars as librarian Stuart Goodson who has experience living on the streets himself leaving him deeply sympathetic to the protesting homeless community. Alec Baldwin and Christian Bale also star in the film and like Estevez they are effective as always.
The Public isn’t perfect - it can be overly simplistic and sanctimonious at times - but I reckon it’s worth your time. It’s on at only a handful of cinemas in cities around Australia so you’ll have to look a little further afield than your local megaplex on this one. If you don’t catch it on the big screen, keep an eye out for it on the telly in future.
Check out this review in the New York Times if you want to read more on this one.
The Public opens on 1 August and is rated M. Trailer here.