The Public: reviews

What the critics say average 6.2 from 2

• 6.3 Roger EbertNell Minow "The film is often entertaining, with some nice touches and compelling moments...But its presentation of real, painful issues is too simplistic and its approach too preachy". Read
• 6.0 Rolling StonePeter Travers "Even a parade of clichés can?t distract from the film?s underlying theme about how libraries are now one of the last outpost of American democracy. Within their walls, we see manifested issues not just of homelessness, but of race, class, addiction, mental illness and income inequality...As civil liberties get increasingly squeezed in the Trump era, 'The Public' takes on a compelling sense of urgency". Read
• The Hollywood ReporterDeborah Young "A scrappy feel-good drama...There is little nuance here in the storytelling or acting. The dialogue often has a stilted, unnatural ring to it, and it is a tribute to the cast that they manage to bring out the essence of the film, its political heart, so strongly. But the editing keeps things moving swiftly and seamlessly, and given the many narrative threads left barely explored, it is almost a surprise that the film ends so quickly". Read
• VarietyDennis Harvey "Emilio Estevez?s 'The Public'...[is] a commentary on up-to-the-moment social issues that?s also a curiously old-fashioned, uplifting dramedy redolent of Frank Capra and William Saroyan...this somewhat anachronistic, over-rigged crowd-pleaser-cum-message-movie at times seems too cute and simplistic for the harsh realities it touches on". Read