John Q

John Q (2002) is openly angry about the American health insurance system and makes no attempt to hide it. John Quincy Archibald's son is diagnosed with an enlarged heart. He needs a transplant, his employer's insurance will not cover it, and the hospital will not put the boy on the list. After exhausting every legal route, John walks into the emergency room with a gun and takes hostages. His only demand is that his son's name goes on the list. It is structured as a thriller but built to start an argument. The moral question is made easy: what John does is a crime, the film says so, and it holds the system that put him there responsible as well. This is not a subtle picture and it is not trying to be. Denzel Washington keeps it out of melodrama by playing desperation quietly rather than loudly. The final act resolves a few things through convenient coincidence, which is where most criticism landed. Good for: issue driven drama, hostage thrillers, and Denzel Washington. Less good for: armed threat and hospital deaths. Anyone wanting a balanced treatment will not find one. The film picks its side in the first reel.