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      Public Access

      R 1993 1h 27m Drama List
      58% Tomatometer 12 Reviews 27% Audience Score 250+ Ratings When charismatic vagrant Whiley Pritcher (Ron Marquette) arrives at a small, sleepy town, he promptly starts a disturbing public access television program. The show, "Our Town," becomes an explosively popular hit and a piercing investigative platform for locals to air their grievances about life in their deceptively idyllic community. Yet, as scandals surface and tensions progressively rise, the citizenry begins to wonder if Whiley is driven by some unsettling hidden agenda. Read More Read Less

      Critics Reviews

      View All (12) Critics Reviews
      William Thomas Empire Magazine An uneasy film which sets the viewer up for some surprises and delivers on that promise. Let down, however, by a weak cast of unknowns. Rated: 3/5 Mar 12, 2014 Full Review Todd McCarthy Variety [Public Access] is serious-minded and bounces around some provocative ideas, but is vague about such important matters as key story points, motivation and overriding theme. Oct 27, 2010 Full Review Time Out It's engrossing, and Marquette is a genuinely scary customer, a dry-cleaned all-American sociopath. Feb 9, 2006 Full Review TV Guide As it stands, liberals will feel like the butt of a politically incorrect joke, and conservatives will refuse to recognize Whiley as a kindred spirit. The apolitical will be put off by the director's arty footwork in the service of shadow-satire. Rated: 2/4 Mar 12, 2014 Full Review Robert Roten Laramie Movie Scope Whiley Pritcher is about as pure evil as you are going to see on the screen. Ron Marquette achieves a high level of creepiness in this performance and the rest of the actors are also quite good. Rated: C+ Nov 7, 2010 Full Review Chuck O'Leary Fantastica Daily Rated: 3/5 Oct 9, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

      View All (11) audience reviews
      Audience Member In 1995, director Bryan Singer delivered one of the finest crime films - not too mention one of cinema's killer twists - in "The Usual Suspects". Before that, he cut his teeth on this low-budget, independant suspense tale. Whiley Pritcher (Ron Marquette) is an enigmatic stranger who arrives in the small American town of 'Brewster' and starts up a public television show asking the local residents "what's wrong with Brewster?" Not before long, the residents are all calling in, revealing secrets about their neighbours and causing dark fueds, in this once idyllic town. Although this film was done in the early 90's it has a very dated 80's look to it. Despite this, you can still see the early promise from Bryan Singer. It's competantly shot and achieves quite an eerie feel to the whole thing. This little tale would have made a great Twilight Zone episode but as a feature length film, it doesn't quite have enough in the tank for it to hold your interest over a short but somehow protracted 87mins running time. Amature acting is a major letdown also but it's always interesting to see where a career began and Singer certainly shows flourishes of his crime classic to come. It builds slowly and assuredly and it's intriguing premise draws you in, but it ultimately loses it's way and ends with a wimper. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/19/23 Full Review Audience Member From the outset, this was a fantastic idea with a ton of potential behind it. In reality, it was a dull, confusing, frustrating and (dare I say it) stupid movie that seemed to make no real sense once it had ended. Considering the director's next film would the The Usual Suspects, Public Access does hold a place as being the birth of a truly talented film-maker. It's just a pity his talent doesn't come through here; especially with such a brilliant initial idea. A real disappointment. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/27/23 Full Review Audience Member Avant d'avoir presque grillé Superman au cinema, avant d'être le réalisateur des très surrestimé X-Men 1 et 2 (loin d'être aussi géniaux qu'on le dit, et surtout loin d'être aussi supérieur au 3ème, selon moi), et avant d'avoir connu une gloire méritée avec Usual Suspects, Bryan Singer a réalisé cet étrange film sur un étranger qui joue les agitateur dans une chaine de télé d'une petite ville. L'interprète principal Ron Marquette a un charisme de fou, et a même un style de Jeff Goldblum c'est pourquoi j'ai été super choqué d'apprendre qu'il est déjà mort depuis 15 ans (2 ans après la sortie de Public Access), et putain c'est dommage ! Le film démarre bien et l'atmosphère est très mystérieuse, on est pressé de connaître le fin mot de l'histoire mais on reste captivé par le film, on ne sait pas qui est ce Whiley Pritcher et ce qu'il vient faire dans un trou paumé à réveiller le côté obscur caché d'une ville en apparence tranquille. Mais la deuxième partie ne tient pas toute les promesses et ça vire presque (parfois) au grand-guignol, pas mal de trous dans l'histoire (le mystère c'est bien, mais l'impression que c'est basé sur du vent, ça ne l'est pas) qui laisse le spectateur sur sa faim lorsque le film se termine. Mais c'est quand même intéressant de voir ce film qui vaut quand même le coup d'oeil, ne serait-ce que pour l'excellente prestation de Marquette et ce qu'il aurait pu apporter au ciné s'il était encore en vie.... Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review Audience Member This is a mess. I get it, but the execution is really brutal. Could have/should have been so much better. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/19/23 Full Review Audience Member Bryan Singer's debut feature showed no signs of what was to come two years later with The Usual Suspects. This slow moving indie is mostly pointless with a bit of shock value in the last half hour that does little to redeem itself. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member This movie is just wierd... dont waste any of your precious time on this movie! Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis When charismatic vagrant Whiley Pritcher (Ron Marquette) arrives at a small, sleepy town, he promptly starts a disturbing public access television program. The show, "Our Town," becomes an explosively popular hit and a piercing investigative platform for locals to air their grievances about life in their deceptively idyllic community. Yet, as scandals surface and tensions progressively rise, the citizenry begins to wonder if Whiley is driven by some unsettling hidden agenda.
      Director
      Bryan Singer
      Rating
      R
      Genre
      Drama
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (DVD)
      Jan 28, 2003
      Runtime
      1h 27m
      Sound Mix
      Surround