It's heart is in the right place in many ways, but it just outlines everything so clearly in red marker that it doesn't let you discovers things for yourself. Still, it's an estimable effort in some ways.

| Sep 15, 2020

That everything ends on a weird happy-clappy high is indicative of a scattershot project that could have done with less ambition, more focus.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Feb 24, 2020

The Public presents a heartening story of triumph of good over evil, but sadly lacks the gravitas one would usually expect from these types of stories.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Feb 21, 2020

It's all a bit old-fashioned and earnest but with US civil liberties under attack, it's a timely celebration of humanity.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 19, 2020

It is a film with its heart in the right place, but the dialogue and characterisation are both plonkingly unconvincing.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Feb 19, 2020

Making a feature that pleads the cause of the homeless is a laudable achievement, so it's all the more unfortunate that Estevez is unable to eliminate some of the obvious flaws in an otherwise compelling, and timely, drama.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 2, 2019

It's hard to play a good man doing the right thing. Saints are dramatically dull, but Estevez gets away with it here.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 30, 2019

Estevez's drama gets a little preachy in the second half, but "The Public" is passionate about its cause and the cast... deliver like the pros they are.

| May 21, 2019

Alec Baldwin, Jeffrey Wright, Christian Slater and Gabrielle Union all look like they'd rather be somewhere else.

| Original Score: 1.5/4 | Apr 26, 2019

Writer-director-star Emilio Estevez turns a library occupied by homeless citizens as ground zero for our under-fire democracy. Bravo!

| Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 13, 2019

It's not an easy task to direct yourself but Estevez turns in a top-notch performance, fired by his passion for the subject matter.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 12, 2019

The story's moral has obviousness problems, the plot's predictable, and its sweetness will annoy as many as it pleases. But it's still warm, winsome and droll, and the spectacular cast fills underwritten roles with radiant star power.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 12, 2019

The problem is, there's only just enough story to go round. You can hear the creak as both characters and subplots get jacked up out of proportion.

| Apr 7, 2019

Its heart is in the right place, but because it's mired in too many of Estevez's questions about public duty versus public safety, The Public struggles to stay on track and keep the viewer involved.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Apr 5, 2019

It's a noble effort, but "The Public" never makes a convincing case for its cause.

| Original Score: C+ | Apr 5, 2019

Its presentation of real, painful issues is too simplistic and its approach too preachy.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Apr 5, 2019

Estevez does an elegant job with this setup, creating a low-key, uncondescending portrait of lives on the edge.

| Apr 4, 2019

Well-intentioned parable about the plight of the homeless falls flat.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 4, 2019

Estevez, directing himself, knows what emotions Estevez, the actor, is trying to put over. He's the only one.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Apr 3, 2019

It's hard to disagree with anything in "The Public." Estevez is fighting the good fight. But it's also hard to swallow an argument, however well-reasoned and emotionally compelling, when it feels like it's being shoved down your throat.

| Original Score: 1.5/4 | Apr 3, 2019