Wednesday November 10th 2021

USA    2018   119 minutes
Director: Emilio Estevez
Starring: Alec Baldwin, Taylor Schilling, Emilio Estevez

‘The Public’ is the affectionate shorthand name for the public library in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. During opening hours, some of the city’s homeless meet there to socialise and use its facilities. One night the temperature plummets to record sub-zero levels, and the chief librarian decides to let the homeless shelter inside, and in effect helps them barricade themselves in. The city authorities interpret this not as an act of charity, but one of civil disobedience. The situation escalates as the media and the police get involved, and the city mayor (who is also a hopeful candidate for the post of district attorney) tries to engineer events for his political advantage.