History Film / JohnQ

* TakeThat: The only hostage that is heavily critical of John is an obnoxious abusive JerkAss. Real subtle.

* AirVentPassageway: Used to get into the emergency room.

* AuthorTract: The film is an extended parable against the American health industry, and is very heavy-handed in getting its message across: healthcare should not be for profit, and it should not let people die when it could save them. Whether this particular anvil needed to be dropped, of course, is entirely up to the viewer. Of course, the movie could be a way to make people aware of this issue and address the situation. Amusingly enough, while the film presents a fairly liberal/Democratic view of health care in the U.S. many of the actors in the movie are openly conservative (James Woods and Robert Duvall to name two).

* DomesticAbuse: One of the kidnapped patients is arrogant and a mean drunk...
* DoubleMeaningTitle: The title John Q. refers both to the main character's name and the term "John Q. Public", which is a symbol for the common man.

* HollywoodLaw: [[spoiler: There is no way that John would only spend two years in prison for all his crimes in any reasonable court of law, whether or not his intentions were good. He's found not guilty of attempted murder and armed criminal action simply because there were no bullets in the gun, which would not hold up, because an empty gun is still considered a deadly weapon. The jury can ignore the evidence and acquit him, which is likely what happened here since he had lots of public sympathy, but that still doesn't explain getting only two years on multiple kidnapping charges. In many places kidnapping is punishable by up to a life sentence.]]
** In fairness, we do not see John's final sentence. His lawyer points out that he's realistically looking at 3 to 5 years imprisonment, and that she'll try to get it reduced to two. 3 to 5 is about the average sentence a kidnapping convict will incur in the state of Illinois (the film is set in Chicago.)
** Even if he was convicted (which is doubtful, especially if he had a particularly skilled attorney who could play on juror sympathies), judges are given considerable leeway when it comes to sentencing. If he was convicted, it may have been on only one count rather than on multiple counts if the judge is sympathetic. There's also the probability of time off for good behavior, or of the multiple kidnapping sentences being served concurrently rather than consecutively.
* HopeSpot: John starts to raise the money for his son's operation, selling his truck and cutting back on expenses. Just as he's already paid the hospital $22,000 (of the $75,000 needed), his wife informs him that the hospital isn't waiting any longer for the money and they're releasing Michael. This makes John desperate, and he goes to beg for his son's life from the administrators in charge of the case. It's only when Dr. Turner coldly refuse keep Michael (as an act of good faith) that he brings out a gun.
** Played straight when Rebecca Payne relents and tells John's wife that the hospital will cover the costs for the transplant.

* JustifiedCriminal: John only creates the HostageSituation out of despiration for his son's life.
* KarmaHoudini: The police guys who tried killing John unnecessarily because it was Election Year. Almost happened with Payne, but the guilt stab to her heart may or may have not been sufficient.

* MistakenIdentity: Towards the end of the film, one of the hostages [[spoiler: pretends to be John by dressing in his coat and hat, in order to give John a chance to watch his son's operation]]
* PapaWolf: John, most definitely. He takes an entire hospital hostage, knowing that he's going to jail for it, while proclaiming "I am not gonna bury my son!" to the news media who come to look. [[spoiler:Once he believes that no help is coming, John almost commits HeroicSuicide, but is stopped at the last second by finding out that they found a donor after all.]]

* ToBeLawfulOrGood: John seems to be going through a series of these during the entire HostageSituation. He knows he's causing a lot of pain and suffering, but he sees no other way ot save his son's life.

* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: The film has this in spades. The protagonist's son needs a heart transplant but no insurance to afford it. The big bad insurance agent is evil for not paying for his son's surgery, and the hospital proceeds to announce they're discharging Michael even though John has raised a third of the money and needs a few more months. So John holds an entire hospital emergency room hostage, threatens to kill people if his son doesn't get a heart, and causes terror. However, there are only so many hearts available for transplant in the world. By blackmailing others to get his son a heart, he stole it from someone else, effectively killing that person. Then his son had his heart transplanted last minute by a group unprepared for the surgery, which lowered the odds of the transplant working properly. So John gave his son a lower chance of success of surviving the surgery than the person he stole the heart from. Not to mention the whole holding people hostage, disrupting an emergency room, which nearly resulted in one person dying, due to the hospital being locked down. Not only did John's stunt waste thousands of dollars in taxpayer's money, his 'victory' will encourage more people to extort the government for organs, which will further destabilize things, and most likely lead to more senseless deaths when the next blackmail attempt doesn't go as well as John's. Meanwhile, the insurance agent and doctor that are presented as the bad guys point out that they can't go around helping every little kid when there aren't enough hearts to go around. When you have to triage lives anyways, to triage lives based off financial affordability makes sense when the only other option is going bankrupt from never being paid for your services, and no one getting help.
** The issue of stealing a heart from someone else is addressed in the film: the doctors learn and outright state that the heart John's son ends up receiving is of an organ type that he is the only person in the state to match. Also there's the fact that [[spoiler: John's original plan was to kill himself so the doctors could use his heart, therefore providing a new heart instead of stealing one already on the list]].

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: John is a good man pushed to the breaking point while trying to obtain a lifesaving treatment for his son. While he certainly got public opinion on his side, his actions clearly broke the law, resulting in him being found guilty and sent to prison, although his lawyer says she'll try to get him the minimum sentence.

* ToBeLawfulOrGood: John seems to be going through a series of these during the entire HostageSituation.

* AuthorTract: The film is an extended parable against the American health industry, and is very heavy-handed in getting its message across. Whether this particular anvil needed to be dropped, of course, is entirely up to the viewer. Of course, the movie could be a way to make people aware of this issue and address the situation (Your Mileage Will Vary on how widespread the problem is in Real Life).
** Amusingly enough, while the film presents a fairly liberal/Democratic view of health care in the U.S. many of the actors in the movie are openly conservative (James Woods and Robert Duvall to name two).

* BillyNeedsAnOrgan: The central conflict of the film.
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Michael gets the lifesaving heart transplant he needs, but it doesn't change the fact that John broke the law to make it happen, and he's going to prison for at least three years. On the plus side, all of John's former hostages testify on his behalf, and since he never planned on killing anybody, his lawyer might be able to get his sentence reduced to two years.]]
* ChekhovsGunman: [[spoiler:The woman who dies in the opening scene.]]

* PapaWolf: John, most definitely.

* HopeSpot: John starts to raise the money for his son's operation, selling the car and cutting back on expenses. Just as he's already paid the hospital $22,000, his wife informs him that the hospital isn't waiting any longer for the money and they're releasing Michael. This makes John desperate, and he goes to beg for his son's life from the administrators in charge of the case. It's only when Dr. Turner coldly refuse keep Michael (as an act of good faith) that he brings out the gun.
* HostageSituation: A rare case where the audience is actually supposed to be rooting for the kidnapper. Hell, even the ''hostages'' were rooting for him (most of them, anyway).

* PlayingPossum: [[spoiler:After the sniper narrowly misses John,]] he briefly fakes slowly falling down to the floor. It quickly turned out to be somewhat unneeded, as the [[spoiler:sniper]] soon enough looses his footing and is left dangling from the air vent. John immediately drops the charade and moves to beat him into unconsciousness.

* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: The film has this in spades. The protagonist's son needs a heart transplant but can't afford it. The big bad insurance agent is evil for not paying for his son's surgery, and the hospital proceeds to announce they're discharging Michael even though John has raised most of the money and needs a few more months. So John holds an entire hospital emergency room hostage, threatens to kill people if his son doesn't get a heart, and causes terror. However, there are only so many hearts available for transplant in the world. By blackmailing others to get his son a heart, he stole it from someone else, effectively killing that person. Then his son had his heart transplanted last minute by a group unprepared for the surgery, which lowered the odds of the transplant working. So John gave his son a lower chance of success of surviving the surgery than the person he stole the heart from. Not to mention the whole holding people hostage, disrupting an emergency room, which nearly resulted in one person dying, due to lack of proper treatment. Not only did John's stunt waste thousands of dollars, his 'victory' will encourage more people to blackmail the government for organs, which will further destabilize things, and most likely lead to more senseless deaths when the next blackmail attempt doesn't go as well as John's. Meanwhile, the insurance agent and doctor that are presented as the bad guys point out that they can't go around helping every little kid when there aren't enough hearts to go around. When you have to triage lives anyways, to triage lives based off financial affordability makes sense when the only other option is going bankrupt from never being paid for your services, and no one getting help.

* KarmaHoudini: The police guys who tried killing John unnecessarily because it was ElectionYear. Almost happened with Payne, but the guilt stab to her heart may or may have not been sufficient.

* HollywoodLaw: [[spoiler: There is no way that John would only spend 2 years in prison for all his crimes in any reasonable court of law, whether or not his intentions were good. He's found not guilty of attempted murder and armed criminal action simply because there were no bullets in the gun, which would not hold up, because an empty gun is still considered a deadly weapon. The jury can ignore the evidence and acquit him, which is likely what happened here since he had lots of public sympathy, but that still doesn't explain getting only two years on multiple kidnapping charges. In many places kidnapping is punishable by up to a life sentence.]]
** In fairness, we do not see John's final sentence. His lawyer points out that he's realistically looking at 3 to 5 years imprisonment, and that she'll try to get it reduced to 2. 3 to 5 is about the average sentence a kidnapping convict will incur in the state of Illinois (the film is set in Chicago.)

* HopeSpot: John starts to raise the money for his son's operation, selling the car and cutting back on expenses. Just as he's about to reach the total, his wife informs him that the hospital isn't waiting any longer and they're releasing Michael. This makes John desperate, and he goes to beg for his son's life from the administrators in charge of the case. It's only when they coldly refuse that he brings out the gun.
* HostageSituation: A rare case where the audience is actually rooting for the kidnapper. Hell, even the ''hostages'' were rooting for him (most of them, anyway).

* KarmaHoudini: The police guys who tried killing John unnecessarily because it was Election Year. Almost happened with Payne, but the guilt stab to her heart may or may have not been sufficient.

-->'''Lester:''' I felt that!

* AdultFear: You see three sides of it:
** Imagine you see your son collapsing during a baseball game. He has a weak heart and will need an expensive transplant. You have a SadisticChoice of either watching him die at home or do all you can to raise the money and risk bankruptcy.
** A desperate man takes a hospital hostage, filled with sick patients and scared medical personnel. Either you're inside, waiting to be released or treated, or you're outside, watching through newscasts.
** Then there is John's wife. She gets caught in the middle of trying to save her son's life, and her husband becoming a hostage taker. All she can do is serve as a middle ground to prevent either from being killed.

* SenselessSacrifice: [[spoiler:[[AvertedTrope Averted]] by a ''' ''hairsbreadth'' '''. John was within a second or two of killing himself so his heart could be given to his son, until his wife informs him that they found another one to use (see ChekhovsGunman above).]]

* AuthorTract: The film is an extended parable against the American health industry, and is very heavy-handed in getting its message across. Whether [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped this particular anvil needed to be dropped]], of course, is entirely up to the viewer. Of course, the movie could be a way to make people aware of this issue and address the situation (Your Mileage Will Vary on how widespread the problem is in Real Life).

* TakeThat: The only hostage that is heavily critical of John is an obnoxious abusive JerkAss. [[SarcasmMode Real]] [[{{Anvilicious}} subtle.]]

** Even if he was convicted (which is doubtful, especially if he had a particularly skilled attorney who could play on juror sympathies), judges are given considerable leeway when it comes to sentencing. If he was convicted, it may have been on only one count rather than on multiple counts if the judge is sympathetic. There's also the probability of time off for good behavior.

* MoralDilemma: John seems to be going through a series of these during the entire HostageSituation.

* RealityEnsues: John is a good man pushed to the breaking point while trying to obtain a lifesaving treatment for his son. While he certainly got public opinion on his side, his actions clearly broke the law, resulting in him being found guilty and sent to prison, although his lawyer says she'll try to get him the minimum sentence.

* PoorCommunicationKills: [[spoiler:The reason for John's near-Senseless Sacrifice. His wife was either so happy or so terrified that she didn't just '''say''' they found another heart, prompting John to think she was simply going crazy over his decision and shut off the walkie-talkie they were speaking to each other with.]]

* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: The film has this in spades. The protagonist's son needs a heart transplant but can't afford it. Clearly, the big bad insurance agent is evil for not paying for his son's surgery. So John holds an entire hospital emergency room hostage, threatens to kill people if his son doesn't get a heart, and causes terror. However, there are only so many hearts available for transplant in the world. By blackmailing others to get his son a heart, he stole it from someone else, effectively killing that person. Then his son had his heart transplanted last minute by a group unprepared for the surgery, which lowered the odds of the transplant working. So John gave his son a lower chance of success of surviving the surgery than the person he stole the heart from. Not to mention the whole holding people hostage, disrupting an emergency room, which nearly resulted in one person dying, due to lack of proper treatment. Not only did John's stunt waste thousands of dollars, his 'victory' will encourage more people to blackmail the government for organs, which will further destabilize things, and most likely lead to more senseless deaths when the next blackmail attempt doesn't go as well as John's. Meanwhile, the insurance agent and doctor that are presented as the bad guys point out that they can't go around helping every little kid when there aren't enough hearts to go around. When you have to triage lives anyways, to triage lives based off financial affordability makes sense when the only other option is going bankrupt from never being paid for your services, and no one getting help.

** The issue of stealing a heart from someone else is addressed in the film: the doctors learn and outright state that the heart John's son ends up receiving is of an organ type that he is the only person in the state to match.

The film also stars Creator/RobertDuvall as Lt. Frank Grimes, Anne Heche as Rebecca Payne, and Creator/JamesWoods as Dr. Raymond Turner.

''John Q.'' is a 2002 crime film directed by Nick Cassavetes and starring Creator/DenzelWashington as the eponymous John Q. Archibald, a father whose son has just fallen victim to a terrible heart condition, which requires a transplant within a fairly short amount of time. Unfortunately for John, he soon finds out that due to his company's change in health coverage, his HMO will not allow compensation for the procedure. After expending all his other options in attempts to find financing for his son's operation, John makes a desperate choice by holding a hospital emergency room hostage until he is guaranteed an operation for his son.

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: The doctor who tells John not to take no for for an answer; he throws it back in her face once he starts taking hostages.
-->'''John''': I took your advice, Doctor. I'm not taking no for an answer.

* BadCopIncompetentCop: They sent a sniper to kill a guy talking with his family on the phone. While he had no hostage under weapon aim. Would it be to costly to give a non-fatal shot or use a tear gas grenade?! And they degrade to the point of telling him that his feelings for his son's death is meaningless.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:John Q eventually saves his son's life, at the cost of him being taken into police custody.]]

The film also stars Robert Duvall as Lt. Frank Grimes, Anne Heche as Rebecca Payne, and Creator/JamesWoods as Dr. Raymond Turner.

* PlayingPossum: [[spoiler:After the sniper narrowly misses John,]] he briefly fakes slowly falling down to the floor. It quickly turned out to be somewhat unneeded, as the [[spoiler:sniper]] soon enough looses his footing and is left dangling from the air vent. John immediately drops the charade and moves to beat the him into unconsciousness.

* AndThisIsFor: -- Has one scene involving a guy attempting to take down John Q while his girlfriend instead, mace sprays ''him'' and not John, in addition to kicking him down, even in the groin.