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John Q.
2002
John Q. Archibald (Denzel Washington) is struggling through a recession trying to provide for his son Mikey (Daniel E. Smith) and his waitress wife (Kimberly Elise). Mikey collapses at a Little League game and is rushed to a hospital. The situation is bleak. Only a heart transplant will save Mikey's life. John's HMO refuses to .. Read more
| Starring | Denzel Washington, Kimberly Elise, James Woods, Anne Heche |
|---|---|
| Director | Nick Cassavetes |
| Genres | Drama |
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John Q.
John Q. Archibald (Denzel Washington) is struggling through a recession trying to provide for his son Mikey (Daniel E. Smith) and his waitress wife (Kimberly Elise). Mikey collapses at a Little League game and is rushed to a hospital. The situation is bleak. Only a heart transplant will save Mikey's life. John's HMO refuses to cover the expensive surgery. With the hospital and his insurance provider unwilling to help and his wife pleading with John to act, he takes matters into his own hands, holding the hospital's renowned heart surgeon (James Woods) and several others hostage in an emergency care wing until the surgery will be performed.
Nick Cassavetes directed this attack on the American health care system. Like his previous feature, SHE'S SO LOVELY, Cassavetes proves adept at mining the political ramifications out of human drama. The film criticizes hospitals and health care providers for working in collusion against the working class. This moving drama is propelled by the intense lead performance by Washington as one man against an unjust system.
| Starring | Denzel Washington, Kimberly Elise, James Woods, Anne Heche, Robert Duvall, Ray Liotta, Eddie Griffin, Shawn Hatosy, Kevin Connolly, Daniel E. Smith, Troy Winbush |
|---|---|
| Director | Nick Cassavetes |
| Studio | ENTERTAINMENT IN VIDEO |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 52 mins Blu-ray: 1 hr 52 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama |
| Language | English |
| Released | DVD: 28 Oct 2002 Blu-ray: unknown Production year: 2002 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (6)
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Hectoring drama in favour of a national health insurance: its heart may be in the right place, but it has misplaced its mind.
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Washington rubbed off his customary sheen of integrity in Training Day, and picked up an Oscar. In this misbegotten... read more on Time Out
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Most helpful member's review
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22 out of 23 people found this review helpful
Powerful enough to hide its weaknesses
An involving, beautifully acted, sometime manipulative issue film, 'John Q' is the story of a factory worker (Washington as John Archibald) whose son is suddenly struck down with heart disease. Given a choice between making little Mike comfortable until he dies and the risk of a heart transplant the distraught parents opt for the transplant confident that their medical insurance will pay for everything. However, John discovers to his horror that because recent downturns have left him working 20 hours a week his employer's policy classifies him as part time and only provides $20,000 dollars of cover. This won't even pay the $75,000 deposit required for surgery. Provoked by his inability to provide for his family or pay for his son's surgery John is driven to desperate measures when he takes the emergency room hostage and demands that his son be put on the transplant list.
Structurally this is an issue-of-the-week TV movie, what transforms it are the sterling performances of a very strong cast. Denzel Washington's portrayal of the tormented father is pitch perfect and Kimberly Elise, as his wife, maintains a nice balance, simultaneously demanding the impossible of her beleagered husband while still showing her love for him thus retaining our sympathy. Robert Duvall brings suitable gravitas to a light and somewhat underwritten part and James Wood manages to make something of his awkwardly written role as the heart surgeon. Anne Heche's character is the weakest link although this again can be ascribed in large measure to a script that makes her just a little too callous to be realistic.
Weak writing in the supporting characters notwithstanding the film works very well overall, hanging primarily on Washington's work which provides the believable dynamic behind the whole plot. The minor roles of the hostages, while somewhat cliched are carried off well and the pacing is very good.
Apart from an ending which was not quite what it could have been the film is very satisfying. -
Most recent members' review
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6 out of 8 people found this review helpful
Excellent Film
This is an excellent film and keeps you watching all the way through and is about a father, who's son is denied a operation because they are not covered on his insurance, so he takes matters into is own hands and anyone in is position would do the same
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