“Can you help me find one?”

From The Public.

As a librarian in the main branch of the Cincinnati Public Library, Stuart (Emilio Estevez) is accustomed to dealing with a wide range of problems from to absurd reference questions to dealing with other library clerks (Jena Malone), helping security officers (like Jacob Vargas) keep the peace, and interacting with the large number of homeless patrons that camp out in the library all day, especially during the recent cold front. When a mayoral-hopeful prosecutor named Davis (Christian Slater) brings a suit against the library over a homeless man that was kicked out, it places the library director (Jeffrey Wright) in a difficult, uncertain situation, with Stuart at the center. After a homeless man freezes to death right outside, a few of the homeless regulars (including Michael K. Williams, Rhymefest, and Michael Douglas Hall) decide to stage a protest and turn the library into an emergency heat center… and Stuart decides to help them. A police negotiator (Alec Baldwin) is brought in to try and sort everything out while Davis tries to use the media frenzy building outside as a campaign-booster for himself and the story quickly spirals out of control. As the city watches the false news being reported (by Gabrielle Union), Stuart’s only ally on the outside is a neighbor (Taylor Schilling) who pushes him to find a way to keep his homeless patrons from freezing to death and proving a safe ending for everyone in a situation that is becoming more complex by the minute.

The comedy that drives the film is subtle, but present throughout in a very realistic fashion. Some of the biggest surprises are the big names that compose the cast, giving the characters depth and heart. It highlights the homeless and housing crisis that America is facing, but the main focus is how today’s libraries have become a crossroads for information, patrons, and the world. This is a film that will be best appreciated by viewers with a connection to libraries, but The Public has something for almost everyone to enjoy.

| Rated: PG-13 | Running Time: 132 minutes |Genre: drama/comedy |

||Family Viewing||Cursing: 3* of 10|Nudity: 3 of 10|Sexuality: 0 of 10|Gore: 1 of 10

|AVAILABLE FOR HOME VIEWING|