92. The Public; movie review

THE PUBLIC
Cert 15
119 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong language

On the cold nights of winter, it breaks my heart when I see the homeless trying to keep warm in shop doorways.
When I was growing up, it was a rarity to see anyone homeless but, sadly, the numbers of those on the streets have shot up in recent years.
There are many reasons - the breakdown in family, the increase in addiction and the state not attacking social problems proactively.
Emilio Estevez pricks our conscience about homelessness with a film which he has wanted to make for a decade. He also makes a great case for maintaining public libraries.
The Public is set in Cincinnati's main library where the homeless seek refuge during the day and become known to staff by their first names.
They are an eclectic mix but one thing they have in common is their fear of the prevailing freezing cold and their difficulty in finding shelter.
Therefore, as people begin to die of hypothermia in the streets, they decide to stage an overnight sit-in at the library.
The city authorities have little sympathy for their plight and instead turn their focus on the librarian (Estevez) who has stayed with the protestors, inaccurately claiming publicly that he is holding them hostage.
Alec Baldwin is the police investigator who is strangely intransigent given that his son is a missing addict who is believed to be on the streets.
Christian Slater plays an unempathetic public prosecutor who is running to be mayor but who lacks the public spirt to beating a much more popular candidate.
Added to the toxic mix is Gabrielle Union as a one-dimensional TV reporter who refuses to let the facts get in the way of a good story.
It won't surprise regular readers to learn that the cliched media portrayal irritated me.
However, that was a pinprick distraction in a film which posed plenty of worthwhile questions about society's reaction to the homeless.
The Public weaves many strands around the subject of homelessness and society's reaction to its victims.
And it also asks questions if the institutionalised homeless such as the character played by Michael K. Williams who associates being on the streets with freedom - until it becomes too cold.
Having been on the board of YMCA Derbyshire, I have often been involved in conversations during which homelessness has come to the fore.
Therefore, The Public resonated with me. Unfortunately, it hasn't had a wide enough release in the UK to chime with a wider public or reach those who are ill-informed.


Reasons to watch: Shines a much-needed light on the plight of the homeless
Reasons to avoid: Perhaps a shade too off-the-wall

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: Bare bum
Overall rating: 8/10

Did you know? In January 2018, 552,830 people were counted as homeless in the United States. Of those, 194,467 (35 per cent) were unsheltered, and 358,363 (65 per cent) were sheltered. The overall homeless population on a single night represents 0.2 per cent of the U.S. population or 17 people per 10,000 in the population.

The final word. Emilio Estevez: "What did I want to leave the audience with? The simple word is hope." Birth. Movies. Death

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