John Q
A Movie Eye Member Movie Review!

Author: Gareth Von Kallenbach
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Posted to Movie Eye: 2/13/2002
Film Release Date: 2/15/2002
Rated: PG-13 for violence,language and intense thematic elements.
Length: 118 minutes
Produced by: Mark Burg, Oren Koules
Directed by: Nick Cassavetes
Cast: Denzel Washington, Robert DuVall, Anne Heche, James Woods, Eddie Griffin
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Distributor: New Line Cinema

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How far would you go to save a loved one? This is the question that for many of us thankfully will remain a hypothetical pondering. However for John Archibald (Denzel Washington), in the new Drama "John Q" the question drives him to stage a high stakes crisis where life and death are the only options.

Directed by Nick Cassavetes, "John Q" tells the story of John Archibald and his family, wife Denise (Kimberly Elise), and son Mike (Daniel E. Smith) as they struggle to cope in difficult economic times. John is working part time at his factory due to hours being cut, and his wife has just started at a grocery store. Despite the financial hardships, they are a loving and happy family who have good friends and are respected by their congregation and community. Tragedy strikes the family unexpectedly when Mike collapses during a baseball game, and is discovered to have a failing heart by the doctors attending him. It is revealed that short of a transplant, Mike will not live much longer. The cost of the transplant is a quarter of a million dollars, and John is informed that his insurance will not cover the procedure. Unwilling to let his only child die, John and Denise set about contacting various relief and assistance agencies in an effort to raise the money and save their son. Desperate to pay the rising costs, the Archibalds soon take to selling their possessions and accepting charity from their congregation but it is still far too little as they are denied assistance time after time by the bureaucracy. Desperate to keep his son in the hospital after being informed of his pending release due to lack of funds, John takes matters into his own hands and takes the hospital's emergency room and several people hostage. John has a very simple request, all he wants is to have his sons name placed on the donor list so that Mike might have a chance to live.

During the hostage standoff, John has to negotiate with veteran police officer Grimes (Robert Duvall) who wants to end the standoff quickly and quietly. The efforts are hampered by the Chief of Police (Ray Liotta), who is more concerned about election year politics and his media image than in doing what is right for all parties involved. Further complicating the situation are Rebecca Payne (Anne Heche), as a hospital administrator more concerned with the bottom line than helping the public and Dr. Turner (James Woods), as the surgeon that can save Mike, but who is more concerned with policy and procedure than the human issue at hand.

The hostages John holds are a mixed group including a Hispanic mother, an expecting couple, an abusive rich snob and his girlfriend, nurses and guards and a smooth operator known as Lester (Eddie Griffin). It is the diversity of the group that leads to some of the more memorable moments in the film as the notion of health care in America is seen differently by each member of the group, and the film avoids the racial issue and instead relies more on the economic factors that for many determine the type and quality medical care they can receive. While the film is dramatic, it rarely seems forced or contrived and the issues raised by the film are valid with no easy answers. The film also takes steps to show the other side of the issue, as while the bureaucracy is painted in a bad light, the audience is given some of the reasons behind their actions and decisions.

The cast is very good and Washington and Woods give outstanding performances without stepping on each other's toes. The ensemble cast works well and there is solid chemistry amongst all the characters. Perhaps the most enjoyable things about "John Q" other than the fact that it entertained, was that it informed without preaching nor making broad generalizations. The situation in the film was shown as what happened to one family without making broad references about this sort of situation happening to everyone. "John Q" is a well-made and informative film that was a pleasant surprise.

4 stars out of 5
Gareth Von Kallenbach

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Comments by Ken Thompson    12/2/2003
Hey Angel, stop yelling please. I fail to see how the movie offered more than one side or where it offered any solutions at all (unless taking over a hospital with a gun is a solution). Instead of offering an informative look at a difficult issue, it did nothing but blame the hospitals and government for not bankrupting themselves by providing free quarter million dollars procedures to everyone that needs them. Those in the future faced with this situation will benefit from viable solutions, not manipulation.

Comments by Angel Marie Moll    2/25/2002
THIS MOVIE IS SO TRUE - WITH HOW WE SHOULD ALL FACE THE REALITY THAT A HUMAN LIFE IS SO FAR MORE VALUABLE/PRICELESS THEN THE CHOICE OF WHETHER THAT PERSON HAS THE RIGHT COVERAGE FOR HEALTH BENEFITS OR NOT. I CAN NOT SEE HOW PEOPLE COULD TURN THEIR BACKS TO THIS CHILD OR ANY OTHER PERSON NEEDING THE CARE HE DID, & DUE TO THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF HEALTH INSURANCE POLITICS, THIS MAN'S SON WOULD DIE. THE SADESS THING IS THIS HAPPENS IN THE REAL WORLD EVERYDAY. THIS MOVIE HIT RIGHT ON THE NOSE THE REALITY OF WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE. A LIFE SHOULD NOT BE TIED IN TO THE POLITICS OF EVERYDAY WHEN IT COMES TO HEALTH OR A LIFE THREATENING ISSUE. HUMAN LIFE SHOULD BE SAVED AT ANY COST, EVEN IF THAT PERSON CAN NOT PAY THE SO CALLED PRICE. AWESOME ACTING, THE MOVIE COVERED AREAS WE SHOULD ALL TAKE A DEEPER LOOK AT?


 

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