Emilio Estevez, Taylor Schilling, Jena Malone, Alec Baldwin, Gabrielle Union and more star in the drama.


In Emilio Estevez's latest film, a librarian named Stuart Goodson (Estevez) is caught between being a humanitarian and following public law.


When Cincinnati is hit with a brutal polar storm and a homeless man is found dead outside the public library, Stuart is confronted by a man named Jackson (Michael K. Williams), who claims there is not enough shelter in the city for all of them. Things quickly take a turn for the unexpected when the men band together to stage a nonviolent sit-in after the public library closes. What starts as an act of civil disobedience quickly dissolves into a standoff when the police department, led by Detective Bill Ramstead (Alec Baldwin) and district attorney Josh Davis (Christian Slater) gets involved.


Estevez wrote and directed the pic, which had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2018. The movie also stars Jeffrey Wright, Richard T. Jones, Jacob Vargas and Ki Hong Lee.


This will be Estevez's first appearance back on the big screen since 2010's The Way.


The Public hits theaters April 5.