John Q (2002)

Director:

Nick Cassavetes

Writer (WGA):

James Kearns (written by)

Release Date:

15 February 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Give a father no options and you leave him no choice.

Plot:

A down-on-his luck father, whose insurance won't cover his son's heart transplant, takes the hospital's emergency room hostage until the doctors agree to perform the operation.

Plot Keywords:

Hospital | Emergency Room | Hostage | Baseball | Heart Transplant

Awards:

2 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Gabriela Oltean	...	Beautiful BMW Driver
Denzel Washington	...	John Quincy Archibald
Kimberly Elise	...	Denise Archibald
Ron Annabelle	...	Tow Truck Driver
Daniel E. Smith	...	Michael 'Mike' Archibald
David Thornton	...	Jimmy Palumbo
Barry G. King	...	Employee Manager
Laura Harring	...	Gina Palumbo (as Laura Elena Harring)
Kevin Connolly	...	Steve Maguire
Larissa Laskin	...	Dr. Ellen Klein
Vanessa Branch	...	Registered Nurse
Stephanie Moore	...	Admitting Nurse
James Finnerty	...	Nurse Reggie
Anne Heche	...	Rebecca Payne
James Woods	...	Dr. Raymond Turner

Also Known As:

John Q. (USA) (poster title)
John Q. - Verzweifelte Wut (Austria) (Germany) [de]
John Q (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
John Q (Spain) [es]
John Q (Greece) [el]
John Q (Croatia) [hr]
John Q (France) [fr]
John Q. (Argentina) [es]
Situación extrema (Peru) [es]
Um Ato de Coragem (Brazil) [pt]
Végszükség (Hungary) [hu]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence, language and intense thematic elements.

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Venezuela:PG-13 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #38323) | Iceland:L | Malaysia:U | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Manitoba) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia) | France:U | Singapore:PG (cut) | Finland:K-15 | Singapore:NC-16 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of the Grisons) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Ajax, Ontario, Canada

Company:

New Line Cinema

Trivia:

Director Cameo: [Nick Cassavetes]A reporter on the courthouse steps at the end.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Dr. Turner passes through the doors into the glass corridor where John takes him hostage, you can see the feet of crew members behind the door below the white backdrop.

Quotes:

John Q. Archibald: My son is dying, and I'm broke. If I don't qualify for Medicare, WHO THE HELL DOES?

Movie Connections:

Features "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (1992)

Soundtrack:

Justice of the Heart

A quite moving tale

John Q (Denzel Washington) is just an average man, he works at a factory and his wife and his son Michael are his whole world. When his son is taken ill and needs an needs an urgent heart transplant, he soon learns that his insurance won't cover the bills and he has no real hope of raising the cash himself. In an act of desperation he holds the emergency room hostage, it's all he can do to get his son the care he needs.

I felt the film was fundamentally flawed, yet it was made and performed with such passion and realism, what at first seems like a far-fetched plot is soon forgotten about, and you have to just go with the flow of this emotionally charged drama.

The cast is very strong, and the direction holds the story together very nicely; but most of all it achieves what it sets out to do, and that is move the audience.

7/10