The Public (movie) - For the Love of Dewey: Special Review!

Hey all!

As you all are aware, Jessica and I work in libraries.  For the last year or so (after learning about the movie from a shared co-worker), we have known about the movie The Public starring Emilio Estevez and Michael Kenneth Williams.

You can check out the movie trailer above.

The last year for us was waiting for this movie to come out with baited breath.  Last week, the movie came out and we *finally* went to see it last night with some co-workers.  

The 5 of us were the only ones in the theater.  It was almost like a private viewing!

The libraries where we work are different from the (Cincinnati) Main Library but at the same time, there are a lot of similarities.  We don't work in major cities and our libraries don't have on site security.  We also don't have a stuffed polar bear that is in our entrance way because the natural history museum is under renovation. 

We do get phone calls from patrons that start off "I have a question..." what the question might be, is anyone's guess! We have patrons that become our friends because we see them so much.  We have patrons who fall on hard times.  Libraries are a lot more than just books- sometimes that a notion that people are quick to forget.  

Jillian's Review: 
I found the movie to be good. It was realistic to what we see at work (while not to the same degree or caliber per say).  I liked how the movie focused on homelessness, I felt like this was important.  It sheds light on something that isn't addressed (which is a point that Michael Kenneth Williams' character brings up too). The one thing I wished for was that there was closure.  I felt like the ending was a little undone.  After expressing this to a co-worker, she said that she felt the same thing but that another co-worker has explained that was the best way for the movie to end. Why? Because you didn't know how something like that was going to handle from one municipality or state to the next.
I would give this movie 3.75 popcorn kernels out of 5!

Jessica's Review:
I don't really like movies or going to the movies.  In fact, I really only usually watch movies if I have to. BUT I LOVED THIS MOVIE.  This movie tackles homelessness in the library, while not to the extent as described in the movie, it is something that I have dealt with for 8 years in my first library job (shelving books around homeless men sleeping, learning how to communicate with people who suffer from mental illness and schizophrenia, learning what to do when a patron smells to the point where other patrons complain, etc.).  Although, now that I think about it, we did have a naked lady cooking string beans in the bathroom once...But that's a story for another time.  I was so happy to have a movie that I could relate to from the patron interactions to the "Oh you work in a library?  They still have those?  Must be nice to sit and read all day..." comments all of us library workers deal with.

In addition to patron questions and homelessness, this movie also tackled the concept of fake news and how what you see or hear on television is nearly always someone else's opinion.  Anything and everything can be twisted from the angle you view it, to the words someone says.  Libraries help to shed the truth behind these opinions.  I give this movie 5 out of 5 kernels.  I want to take everyone in my family to see it again.  WHY AREN'T THERE MORE MOVIES ABOUT LIBRARIES OUT THERE!?