John Q (2002 film)

Name: John Q.

Directed by: Nick Cassavetes

Written by: James Kearns

Produced by: Mark Burg Oren Koules

Executive Producers: Michael De Luca Avram Butch Kaplan Richard Saperstein

Co-Executive Producers: Howard Burkons Dale de la Torre

Director of Photography: Rogier Stoffers

Production Designer: Stefanie Cella

Film Editor: Dede Allen

Music by: Aaron Zigman

Studio: Pixar Animation Studios

Production Company: Evolution Entertainment

Distributor: DreamWorks Pictures

Length: 117 minutes

Airdate: February 15, 2002

Budget: $36 million

Box Office: $102.2 million

Pixar Movie Number: 685

John Q. is a 2002 American crime film starring Denzel Washington and directed by Nick Cassavetes. The film tells the story of John Quincy Archibald (Denzel Washington), a father and husband whose son is diagnosed with an enlarged heart and finds out he is unable to receive a transplant because HMO insurance will not cover it, before he decides to hold up the hospital and force them to do it. The film co-stars Kimberly Elise, Robert Duvall, Anne Heche, James Woods and Ray Liotta. The film was shot in Toronto, Hamilton, Ontario, and Canmore, Alberta, although the story takes place in Chicago. Shooting took place for 60 days from August 7 to November 3, 2000.

Plot
A motorist is driving dangerously down a winding road, recklessly passing cars until she comes upon a slow moving Mack truck. As she attempts to pass, her car is clipped by a truck going in the opposite direction, then slammed full-force by the Mack, killing her.

Meanwhile, John Quincy Archibald and his wife Denise witness their young son Michael collapse at his baseball game and take Michael to the hospital. After a series of tests at the hospital, John is informed by Dr. Raymond Turner and Rebecca Payne, the hospital administrator, that his son has an enlarged heart and that he will die without a heart transplant. The procedure is very expensive: $250,000 (at a minimum), with a down payment of $75,000 (30%) required to get Michael's name on the organ recipient list. John tells them he is insured, but after looking through his policy, they tell him that because the company he works for dropped John from full-time to part-time, his health insurance has been changed, and the new policy does not cover the surgery, which leaves John and Denise to raise $75,000 on their own. The family tries to raise the money but are only able to come up with a third of the necessary payment. The hospital eventually tires of waiting and plans to release Michael, and an outraged, distraught Denise urges John to do something. Unwilling to let his son die, John walks into the hospital ER with a handgun, gathers eleven hostages, and sets demands: his son's name on the recipient list as soon as possible or the hostages die. The hostage negotiator, Lt. Frank Grimes, stands down to let John cool off.

Meanwhile, John and the eleven hostages learn more about each other. They begin to understand John's situation and support him a little as he ensures each of them receive the treatment they came to the emergency room for. One of them, Miriam, is pregnant, and her husband Steve is hoping that their first child is healthy. A young hostage, Julie, has a broken arm, and she and her boyfriend Mitch claim that a car crash caused it. Due to holes in their story, John and another hostage, Lester, conclude the two are lying and that Mitch beat up Julie. After a while, John agrees to release some hostages to have his son's name added to the list an hour afterward. He releases Steve, Miriam, and a hostage named Rosa with her baby.

The Chicago Chief of Police, Gus Monroe, gives a SWAT unit permission to insert a sniper into the building via an air shaft. John is shot but ends up receiving only a minor wound, which is treated right away. After taking the shot, the sniper's leg falls through the ceiling tiles. Outraged, John pulls him out of the air shaft and beats him up. Using the bound SWAT policeman as a human shield, he steps outside to the sight of dozens of policemen pointing weapons at him and a large, supportive crowd. John demands that his son be brought to the emergency room. The police agree to his demand in exchange for the SWAT sniper.

Once his son arrives, John reveals to the hostages his intention to commit suicide so his heart can be used to save his son. He persuades Dr. Turner to perform the operation, and two of his hostages bear witness to a will stating his last request. John says his last goodbyes to Michael and enters the operating room. He loads a single bullet into the gun; his gun was never loaded and he never intended to kill any of the hostages. John pulls the trigger, but the safety is on. As he prepares to end his life a second time, his wife learns about an organ donor (the woman killed in the beginning of the film) who has been flown to the hospital for organ recovery. She runs to the emergency room and stops John from shooting himself, and John allows the hostages to go free. Michael is given the life-saving operation and, after watching the procedure with Denise, John is taken into police custody. Afterwards the entire ordeal becomes subject to a national debate about the quality and accessibility of insurance and healthcare. Three months later at his trial, all of the witnesses speak on his behalf. He is later acquitted of charges of attempted murder and armed criminal action but is found guilty of false imprisonment. It is never revealed what his sentence for the crime will be, but his lawyer is overheard and saying that no judge will give him "more than three to five (years)" and that she will try to get it reduced to two.

Cast

 * Denzel Washington as John Quincy Archibald
 * Kimberly Elise as Denise Archibald
 * Daniel E. Smith as Michael "Mike" Archibald
 * James Woods as Dr. Raymond Turner
 * Anne Heche as Rebecca Payne
 * Robert Duvall as Lt. Frank Grimes
 * Ray Liotta as Chief Gus Monroe
 * Eddie Griffin as Lester Matthews
 * Shawn Hatosy as Mitch Quigley
 * David Thornton as Jimmy Palumbo
 * Laura Harring as Gina Palumbo
 * Ethan Suplee as Guard Max Conlin
 * Kevin Connolly as Steve Maguire
 * Paul Johansson as Tuck Lampley
 * Heather Wahlquist as Julie Byrd
 * Troy Beyer as Miriam Smith
 * Troy Winbush as Steve Smith
 * Obba Babatundé as Sgt. Moody
 * Larissa Laskin as Dr. Ellen Klein
 * Dina Waters as Debby Utley
 * Martha Chaves as Rosa Gonzales
 * Keram Malicki-Sánchez as Freddy B.
 * Vanessa Branch as Nurse
 * Stephanie Moore as Admitting Nurse
 * Gabriela Oltean as Beautiful BMW Driver

Media Release

 * John Q. is released on VHS and DVD July 16, 2002.

Aspect Ratios

 * 1.85:1 (Widescreen)
 * 1.33:1 (Fullscreen with Full Open Matte)

DVD Menu

 * John Q. DVD Menu
 * Play Movie
 * Set Up Screen and Sound Options
 * English Dolby Surround
 * English Dolby Digital
 * Select a Scene
 * What's InfiniFilm?
 * Need Help?

VHS Previews

 * Pixar Movie Collection Preview
 * Inspector Gadget 2 Trailer (On DVD and Video Spring 2003)
 * Treasure Planet Trailer (In Theaters November 27)
 * Mr. Deeds Trailer (Now Playing in Theaters)

Trivia

 * There are no previews on the DVD. There is only seen with the DVD menu.