46
Metascore
18 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 67The Film StageJared MobarakThe Film StageJared MobarakEstevez isn’t afraid to swing for the fences and elicit some tears from empathetic audience members, but he’s also willing to stop himself short of full-on exploitation via senseless violence. That’s what makes The Public a success despite the convenient characters and constant paralleling showing the merit of second chances. Estevez never forgets the humanity he’s striving to spotlight.
- 63RogerEbert.comRogerEbert.comThe film is often entertaining, with some nice touches and compelling moments.
- 58The PlaylistChris BarsantiThe PlaylistChris BarsantiEven though The Public ultimately doesn’t come together as a dramatic piece, particularly in the hammy climax, it does take some impressive chances. Just making a story about the invisible homeless is a brave move to start—audiences tend not to like stories about intractable issues, after all.
- 50Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinLos Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinWhat could have been a deep and rousing clarion call on the homeless crisis gets supplanted by surface characterizations and situations, us-against-them broadsides and weak story strands.
- 50TheWrapTricia OlszewskiTheWrapTricia OlszewskiThe film is a clunky and at times ridiculous affair, taking a situation that might reasonably happen and turning it into something melodramatic and ultimately unbelievable.
- 50San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleSan Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleEstevez further undermines the film by casting himself in the lead role. He gives an odd performance, in which he consistently seems to be going for enigmatic, but he ends up just inexpressive.
- 50The New York TimesBen KenigsbergThe New York TimesBen KenigsbergMost egregiously, Gabrielle Union plays a TV news reporter determined to portray the protest as a hostage situation. At the film’s nadir, Stuart, on the phone with her during a broadcast, stops making his case and begins quoting from “The Grapes of Wrath.”
- 40Arizona RepublicKerry LengelArizona RepublicKerry Lengel[Estevez] still hasn't progressed beyond the film-school basics, but somehow he managed to recruit an all-star cast of (presumably) like-minded activists for The Public.
- 37Washington PostMichael O'SullivanWashington PostMichael O'SullivanThis is a small film with some big-ish names in it: Jeffrey Wright plays Stuart’s boss; Taylor Schilling is his love interest; and Gabrielle Union is a TV reporter. But it topples under the weight of its unwieldy themes.
- 25Slant MagazineKeith WatsonSlant MagazineKeith WatsonThe film is a clunky, overwritten attempt to pack as many tortured subplots and pre-chewed sociological insights as can possibly fit into a two-hour runtime.