A review of the movie “John Q”.
This paper presents an examination of the movie “John Q” about a father’s fight against the health care system when he discovers it will not pay for his son’s medical treatment and the dire consequences that follow. It discusses how the movie provides a real life look at what millions of Americans face in this nation with being underinsured or uninsured and how it brings to light just how frustrated the public has become and judging by the audience reactions around the nation it hits home. The movie underscores what happens to hard working Americans facing catastrophic illness and the actions of one man, John Q, illustrates what many Americans wish they had the courage to do.
“This movie works to uncover the hospital trauma and drama that occurs in many life threatening but experimental situations(McCarthy, 2002). The hospital administrator played by Anne Heche provides the outlet for the audience frustration when she sits across the table after the Archibalds find out their son is dying and clinically tells them that they cannot help their son unless they have many thousands of dollars to pay upfront as a deposit for his transplant(McCarthy, 2002). When John Q takes the hospital hostage the police get involved and Robert Duvall plays the cop who handles the hostage negotiations. He becomes sympathetic to the cause and this causes the audience to side even more with John and the plight he finds himself in.”