John Q (2002)

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.

Director:

Nick Cassavetes

Writer:

James Kearns

Stars:

Gabriela Oltean, Denzel Washington, Kimberly Elise

2 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

John Quincy Archibald's son Michael collapses while playing baseball as a result of heart failure. John rushes Michael to a hospital emergency room where he is informed that Michael's only hope is a transplant. Unfortunately, John's insurance won't cover his son's transplant. Out of options, John Q. takes the emergency room staff and patients hostage until hospital doctors agree to do the transplant.

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Plot Keywords:

hospital | heart | doctor | hostage | insurance | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Metropolitan Films [fr] (French) New Line [us] Story, cast, Filmmakers, gallery and downloads

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

15 February 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

John Q.

Filming Locations:

Ajax, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$36,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$419,535 (Japan) (22 November 2002)

Gross:

$2,606,250 (Japan) (10 January 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Burg/Koules Productions, Evolution Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie was shot in a group of provincial government buildings in Toronto. Adjacent to filming is a hospital. On at least one occasion, filming blocked off the access to the real emergency room of the real hospital.

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Goofs

The rear-view mirror has been removed from John's pickup.

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Quotes

Lester: [to Mitch] You put the hit on that girl and everyone here knows it.

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Connections

References The Simpsons (1989)

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Soundtracks

"The Voice Inside My Heart"
Written by Brock Walsh, Denise Rich, Nick Cassavetes & Aaron Zigman
Performed by Patti LaBelle
Produced and arranged by Aaron Zigman
Patti LaBelle appears courtesy of MCA Records

User Reviews

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