Day 102: August 10th, 2010

John Q



Give a father no options and you leave him no choice.

Being a Canadian, I can't really relate to the problem at the centre of this film. Affording health care is not a problem for me, but John Q somehow struck a cord with me. I'm not surprised that many people pick on this film, but I will strongly defend it. It's a good film, there I said it.

Let's look at the cast, Denzel Washington, James Woods, Anne Heche, Kevin Connolly, Ethan Suplee, Eddie Griffin, Robert Duvall, Ray Liotta. Sure some of these names mean nothing, but I'm surprised at the well rounded cast here. Denzel gives a strong personal and heartfelt performance as John Q. He's back into a corner regarding the life of his son and he's out of his league here. How far would a father go to save the life of his child. People criticize the film because everyone has problems and he has no right to endanger the lives of others, blah, blah. It's a father's love for his son. The greatest fear of parents is to outlive their children.

One scene that gave me goosebumps is when John is willing to kill himself to give his kid a heart. The moment he puts that gun in his mouth, a great scene. Cassavetes is quite the interesting person. Acting in Face/Off directing this and The Notebook and even Alpha Dog. He seems to have such a dangerous side, as well as being a big softy.

John Q is not ground breaking, but it's a film that spoke to me. Most of the film is unrealistic and narrow minded in it's message, but I dig it enough to recommend it to people. Hopefully people will put political views aside and watch a film about a father and his love for his dying son.

6.5/10