In “The Public” an unusually bitter Arctic blast has made its way to downtown Cincinnati and the front doors of the public library where the action of the film takes place. At odds with library officials over how to handle the extreme weather event, some homeless patrons turn the building into a shelter for the night by staging an “Occupy” sit in. What begins as an act of civil disobedience becomes a stand-off with police and a rush-to-judge media constantly speculating about what’s really happening. This David versus Goliath story tackles some of the USA’s most challenging issues – homelessness and mental illness – and sets the drama inside one of the last bastions of democracy-in-action: the public library.
Stuart Goodson (Emilio Estevez) is in charge of the main reference library where the homeless come every day to get away from the harsh weather conditions. He is caught between a rock and a hard place when, one particularly cold evening, over 100 homeless men refuse to leave the building – protesting the lack of facilities provided by the city for the homeless. They barricade themselves in which commences the stand-off with police negotiator Detective Bill Ramstead (Alec Baldwin) and the obnoxious chief prosecutor Josh Davis (Christian Slater). The latter just wants to get in the SWAT team and end what he thinks is a hostage situation, while Ramstead prefers the negotiation approach while also looking for his drug-addicted son.
There are many powerful and interesting moments in the movie and some heart-warming ones – plus the frustration with the media who just seem to be after a ratings-story without really seeking the truth about what is happening inside. Is this typical portrayal of Trunp-fake-news??
Some great performances and, although the storyline is more relative to America, there are aspects which relate to Australia’s growing homelessness problems. A good movie which is definitely worth a look. My niece studied in the US for a while and said that the libraries are definitely a haven for the homeless so there is a lot of credibility with the storyline.
The Public is now screening at Palace Prospect. Session times are located here:
https://palacenova.com.au/films/the-public?location=eastend
No Comments