If you can judge a person based on the films that they make, then Emilio Estevez is a decent person. I have only seen two of Estevez’s films, The Way and The Public, but they are old-fashioned, well-intentioned, rooted in reality with enough of a departure to keep the ending happy. I was really impressed with The Way as a Christian movie that was actually good quality albeit probably a bit slow for some viewers so I considered seeing The Public when it opened in theaters, but location matters, and it was just enough of a logistical issue that I decided to see it at home. I got it as soon as it was available for home viewing, and even though it is a fictional movie, mom was willing to watch it too, and enjoyed it.
The Public stars Estevez as a librarian and the protagonist. He decides to side with the homeless patrons who use the library to stay warm, connect and use the facilities and stand instead of his employer so they can stay the night instead of facing death looking for a warm place elsewhere. The cast is star studded and includes Jena Malone as a fellow librarian, Jeffrey Wright as their boss, Gabrielle Union as a reporter, Alec Baldwin as a negotiator, Christian Slater as a prosecutor, The Wire’s Michael K. Williams as the leader of the homeless patrons and Judging Amy’s Richard T. Jones as the police chief. If it was a CBS television movie, it would be a decent way to spend the night with the family though it may need to edit out some of the slightly more mature moments, but as a theatrical release, it tries to do too much in one film and fails to resonate fully because of the lack of focus.
The Public’s main problem may be that Estevez tried to wear too many hats as the director, writer and star so a dash of vanity injected itself into the proceedings. He wants to be a modern day Frank Capra and Jimmy Stewart, but you only get to be one or neither. Still the goal is an admirable one that may have gone unnoticed if it was not for the stupid romantic story line, which then shines a light on all the other ways that the protagonist has to be the center of attention that strained my suspension of disbelief. The story inherently has enough tension because the majority of the homeless patrons are people of color or mentally disabled so the elephant in the room is the strong likelihood that all these men may get shot and killed so the protagonist could have related to them on multiple levels as occasional revelations scattered throughout the movie while acting as the respectable, articulate, protective barrier to protect them, but then he would be creeping into white savior trope. One way to avoid that trope and make the story more credible is to have Wright, his boss, be the spokesperson and protagonist instead of the librarian. Estevez’s character still could have substantially played the same role, but acted as the conscience on his boss’ shoulder urgently drawing him away from respectability.
Instead The Public depicts the establishment and the media believing that Estevez’s character is a lunatic, disgruntled employee holding the homeless patrons and his coworkers hostage…..without weapons?!? Estevez could identify or be a man of color, but he presents as Caucasian. He could literally walk around with a gun, have a violent criminal history, and no one will treat him with suspicion until after he starts shooting and killing people then if he decides not to commit suicide, the officials will put a bullet proof vest on him, take him out for fast food and ask why he did it whereas a cop has literally shot and killed an unarmed, naked black guy who was viewed as a threat. While I appreciate that Estevez took great pains to simultaneously make his character into a respectable, outsider spokesperson for and similar to the homeless patrons, it does not ultimately work. There is a moment when he quotes Grapes of Wrath, and everyone nods as if he nailed the message whereas I thought, “No one gets the reference because no one reads.”
Like The Way, The Public has a strong Christian impulse about loving others, willingness to sacrifice, rejection of man’s law over God’s law in terms of criminalization of poverty. The opening scene was a brilliant way to frame the story though the subsequent segue to the present day with rap always screams well off establishment trying to seem edgy and hip and comes off as posing and desperate. Estevez does find these little nuanced moments where he stops screaming, “Message!” like Keenan Ivory Wayans’ mailman in Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood and just shows what his idea of a better world would be like. When a rival mayoral candidate appears to show support for the library’s occupiers, he commands the police to carry donations when they are there as if it was an armed standoff. I am cheesy and enjoy explicit God references, especially in seemingly secular films, and a character says, “I don’t think He said occupy,” but he technically did, “Occupy till I come” in Luke 19:13. Hee. I also loved the heavy-handed, but lovely following, “God gives us all a voice. It is up to us if we use it or stay silent.” I enjoy that Estevez is trying to find a way to reclaim Jesus in the political cultural discourse even if it lacks subtlety.
The Public deserves praise for finding ways to inject comedy into the narrative so it did not become a humorless, liberal screed. The montage of patrons asking librarians stupid questions was brilliant. I do not know if Estevez intentionally had Malone’s character do a 180 and turn completely into a fifty-two percenter when faced with the least amount of possible negative consequences to actually adhering to her professed beliefs. The denouement was clever albeit completely unrealistic and left me asking how those men would reclaim the only property that they own in the entire world. Also I am assuming the protagonist no longer has a job and won’t even be able to find sanctuary in the library as terms of any release from his criminal act of civil disobedience. It is all fun and games until the day after.
The Public is a decent movie that is generally family friendly, but in spite of good intentions, it tries to tackle too many issues and permits a skosh too much vanity, complete with visual references to The Breakfast Club, to truly accomplish its goals of changing hearts and minds through entertainment. If heavy-handed entertainment is not your bag, you should probably avoid this one and watch Estevez’s The Way instead. Frivolous side note: Estevez looks more like his daddy Martin Sheen as he gets older.