"John Q" is a 2002 drama film directed by Nick Cassavetes and starring Denzel Washington as John Quincy Archibald, a working-class father who is struggling to pay for his son's life-saving heart transplant.
The film opens with John and his family at the hospital, where they receive the devastating news that their son, Michael, needs a heart transplant to survive. Despite having insurance, they are told that the procedure is not covered and they will need to come up with $250,000 in order to pay for it. Desperate and with no other options, John takes the hospital's emergency room hostage in order to force the administration to perform the surgery on his son.
As the standoff with the police and the hospital administration continues, John is faced with difficult moral dilemmas and must decide what he is willing to do in order to save his son's life. He is also forced to confront the harsh reality of the American healthcare system and its lack of accessibility for working-class families.
Throughout the film, John is supported by his wife Denise, played by Kimberly Elise, and a sympathetic ER doctor, Dr. Turner, played by James Woods. However, he also faces resistance from the hospital's CEO, Rebecca Payne, played by Anne Heche, who is more concerned with protecting the hospital's bottom line than saving Michael's life.
As the tension mounts and the deadline for the transplant approaches, John is faced with a difficult choice: give in to the hospital's demands and risk losing his son, or continue to fight for what he believes is right. In the end, he is able to secure the surgery for his son, but the events of the film leave him questioning the fairness of the healthcare system and the sacrifices he had to make in order to save his son's life.
"John Q" is a powerful and thought-provoking film that tackles the issue of healthcare accessibility in the United States and the lengths that one person will go to in order to save the life of a loved one. It is a poignant reminder of the importance of universal healthcare and the need for reform in the healthcare system.