Trailer
Plot summary
John Quincy Archibald works in a Chicago factory and lives with his wife Denise and their son Michael. After church one Sunday, Michael collapses at a baseball game and is rushed to a hospital. Dr. Raymond Turner and administrator Rebecca Payne tell the parents that Michael needs a heart transplant and will die without one. The family has $1,000 in savings, and the hospital wants $75,000 before Michael's name goes on the transplant list. John's insurance will not cover the surgery. Every attempt to raise the money falls short, and the hospital plans to release Michael.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about John Q (2002)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- On the deleted-scenes commentary, director Nick Cassavetes and writer James Kearns said SWAT advisors for the film told them of a similar real case: a man took an ER hostage at Toronto's St. Michael's Hospital on New Year's Eve 1999 because it would not provide immediate service to his infant son, and was shot dead carrying an unloaded pellet gun.
- After the killing of Brian Thompson in 2024, the film was mentioned in a number of articles about the incident.
