The Category of the Film - Movie Review Example

Movie Review: John Q By Movie Review: John Q The Category of the Film This movie is a drama movie. A brief analysis of the plot of themovie will reveal that the movie John Q is indeed a drama movie. The following is a brief plot of the movie. In this movie, John Q finds himself in a real dilemma; John’s son, Michael, is critically ill of heart disease and Michael has already been taken to hospital (Crisis of Hope Memorial Hospital) by his parents; Michael needed heart transplantation. Unfortunately, Michael’s parents are unable to raise the required money, and they have already exhausted all the possible means to raise the $750, 000 required for Michael’s name to be included in the list of patient’s waiting operation. John Q had to decide on whether to transfer Michael to another hospital (County Hospital) or to use any other possible mean to have his son operated on. Michael would most likely die if his parents transferred him to a County Hospital because the County Hospital would not have been able to operate on him. Desperate to see his son treated, John Q decided to use violence so that his son could be treated; John held hostage the stuff and the patients in the Emergency Room so that his son could be treated. Eventually, John’s plan succeeded and his son was operated on. In this movie, John had also attempted to commit suicide so that he could donate his heart to his son, but fortunately, moments before John was operated on to remove the heart, an alternative heart for the transplant was found from a woman who had died been in a fatal road accident. An analysis of the plot of this movie, therefore, reveals that the movie is a drama movie because it has a dramatic ending. The Film’s Central Points The central point of this movie is that one ought to always act with integrity always. An analysis of the behaviour of the main characters in the movie in regard to integrity will reveal the theme of integrity in this movie. Let us look at whether or not the characters in this movie acted with integrity. Integrity demands that one should always act in the right way and in a manner consistent with one’s conscience; integrity also demands that one should adhere to the right laws governing a society in which one lives. Although John Q was desperate to have his son treated, and, although his plan of resorting to violence finally worked, John’s action of resorting to violence, however, was not in line with moral laws because the violence could have caused more harm than good- for instance, some of the patients whom John held hostage in the emergency ward could have died for lack of medical attention during the time that they were held hostage. For this reason, therefore, John Q did not act with integrity. John also did not act with integrity by attempting to commit suicide so as to donate his heart to his son. This is because, rather than attempting to commit suicide, John could have let the hospital look for the heart for transplantation. John’s wife, Denise, also did not act with integrity in the movie. This is because Denise collaborated with John Q in all his actions in the hospital, and she even encouraged John to resort to violence so as to have their son treated. Rebecca Payne, the hospital administrator and Dr. Turner, however, acted with integrity. A critical look at their actions in the movie reveals that their actions were consistent with the moral laws. Given the fact that John Q and his wife were unable to raise the required amount of money to have their son operated on in the hospital, Rebecca Payne and Dr. Turner had no option but to release Michael. This action was undoubtedly in line with the moral laws because it was an action meant for the overall good of the hospital; operating on Michael without the required amount of money could have caused financial problems to the hospital, leading to interruption of activities in the hospital due to lack of enough money. For that reason, Rebbeca Payne and Dr. Turner acted with integrity in this movie. Some of the 11 people who John held hostages acted with integrity while other hostages did not act with integrity. Although the majority of the hostages were sympathetic to the situation that John Q and his wife were in, it was wrong, however, for some of the hostages to support John Q in his violent and illegal action. Although some of the hostages supported John’s violent act so as to help John save his son, it was morally wrong, however, to support John’s violence because the violence could result in more harm than good by interrupting the activities in the hospital. All the hostages who supported John in his violent act, therefore, did not act with integrity. These hostages include Miriam and her husband Steve, and Julie. The hostages who did not support John’s action, however, acted with integrity. For instance, Mitch acted with integrity because he tried to overpower John Q and to free his colleagues. The Chicago chief of police, Gus Monroe, on the other hand, acted with integrity by sending the sniper to go and shoot John Q so as to free the hostages. This is because it was his responsibility and his duty to free the patients who had been held hostage by John Q. The sniper also acted with integrity because it was his duty to try and kill John Q so as to free the hostages. The hostage negotiator Frank Grimes also acted with integrity because he tried to persuade John Q to release the hostages. It was Grimes’s responsibility to persuade John Q to release the hostages. The woman who was involved in the accident, whose heart was donated to Michael, did not act with integrity. This is because in the first scene of the movie, we see the woman driving carelessly. It is this carelessness in driving that caused the accident and the eventual death. This woman, therefore, did not act with integrity. In summary, the main point of the film is that acting with integrity demands that one should act in accordance with the moral law. This movie demonstrates how John Q acted without integrity so as to save his critically ill child; although John’s main aim of resulting to violence was to save his son, John’s violent action, however, was morally wrong because it could lead to death of more patients in the hospital. The main character in the movie and a number of other significant characters in the movie did not act with integrity because they did not consider the greater good of all the parties in the film. If these characters had acted with integrity, the end of the story would be different. If John Q, for instance, did not hold patients in the emergency room hostage, the story would not have ended as it ended. The Shots Employed in this Film The following two shots are the main shots used in this movie. The first shot used in the movie is close-up. In some parts of the movie, for instance in the part where John is holding some of the staff and the patients in the hospital hostage, John Q is barely visible. The choice of this shot helps to show how John tried to hide his identity as he held some of the patients and the staff in the hospital hostage. The second kind of shot used in this movie is the Wide Shot. In some parts of the film, for instance in the part where John pretends to be dead so as to donate his heart to his son, the image (picture) of john takes up the whole frame in the film. This kind of shot helps to clearly bring out how John had pretended that he was dead. The Film’s Narrative Structure The narrative structure of this film is a linear structure. The narrative structure of this film has three parts. These parts are the setup, the conflict, and the resolution. In the setup of the film, which appears at the introduction, we are introduced to the financial crisis that John Q and his wife Denise are going through: at the beginning of the movie, John Q and his wife wake up to the noise of his car being towed outside, and John tries in vain to dissuade the one who was towing the car to stop towing it. As they were watching their family car being towed, John Q and his wife witness their son collapse due to heart problem. John and his wife took their son to hospital, but unfortunately, John and his wife did not have enough money to foot their son’s lofty hospital bill. This introduction, therefore, gives a very effective setup of the film. The setup of the film, therefore, relates with the central point of the film because it gives a clear exposition of the moral dilemma that John Q and his wife were in. The second part of the narrative structure of this movie is the conflict. Conflict arises in this movie when John Q and his wife, Denise, find themselves in a real dilemma because of their financial inability to finance the heart operation of their son Michael. Michael was in real danger of death, and for this reason John Q and his wife had to find a way of saving their son’s life. Desperate to save their son’s life, John Q decided to hold hostage the staff and the patients of the hospital’s emergency room hostage. This situation creates a real conflict in the film. The conflict in this film relates with the central point of the film in that it explains the action that John Q resulted to in his attempt to save his son; the conflict, therefore, leads to the climax of the film or to the resolution of the conflict in the movie. The last part of the narrative structure of the movie is the resolution of the conflict. In the resolution of the conflict, the hospital management acquiesced to John’s demands and decided to operate on John’s son as a ransom for the patients and the staff of the hospital who were held hostage by John. Since there was lack of heart for the transplant, John pretends that he is dead so that his heart could be removed and used in the transplant. Shortly before John was operated on to remove his heart, another heart, from a woman who had been involved in a fatal road accident, is found as an alternative for the transplant. For this reason, John’s heart was not removed, and he later woke up after realizing that an alternative heart for the transplant had been found. Eventually Michael was operated on and the operation for the heart transplant was successful. The resolution of the conflict in the film is actually the climax of the film. For this reason, the resolution relates with the central theme of the film because it explains how John’s use of violence eventually enabled him to save his son; the resolution of the conflict shows that, although John acted without integrity by resulting to violence, he, however, achieved his motive, although, the violence could have led to death of many more people in the hospital. The Range of Emotions Displayed in the Film One of the main emotions displayed in the movie is apprehension. There is a feeling of apprehension as John uses violence and holds some of the patients and staff in the hospital hostage. The second emotion displayed in the movie is pity. One feels pity as he watches John and his wife trying in vain to ask Dr. Turner and Payne to operate their son who was about to die. The third emotion displayed in this movie is anger. There is a feeling of anger as one watch the innocent patients held hostage by John. Conclusion In conclusion, this film raises a critical philosophical issue of whether or not it is morally right to use violence, and to act without dignity, when one is faced with difficult circumstances. In this movie, John had to either use violence so as to save his son, or to abstain from violence and to act with integrity, thus letting his son to die. A critical look at the action of John in this movie shows that John did not act with integrity. In my view, however, given the circumstances in which John found himself in, John’s use of violence in this movie is morally justifiable; this because the violence enabled John to save the life of his son, without causing any harm to anybody else. References John Q. Philadelphia, Chicago. Read More