The Public

Emilio Estevez directs and stars as Stuart, a librarian who helps a group of local homeless people take refuge from a brutal winter night by staging a sit-in at the free public library. As Stuart and his co-worker Myra (Jena Malone) work to get these "patrons," led by Jackson (Michael K. Williams), situated, the library's security team calls the police. A misunderstanding combined with the eagerness of a politician (Christian Slater) and a TV reporter (Gabrielle Union) to advance their own agendas leads to their noble act being confused for a hostage situation.