John Q.

New Line Productions
PG-13

(Leaders: Please note that this film contains a couple graphic scenes—notably when Mitch is getting beat up, and at the end of the film, when they open Michael’s chest for the transplant operation—which some of your weaker-stomached youth (or you) might find distasteful. As with any film, it’s a good idea for you to see the film before showing it to a group.)  

John Q. Archibald is an ordinary man who works at a factory and takes care of his family. His wife, Denise, and young son, Michael, are his world. But when Michael falls seriously ill and needs an emergency heart transplant operation that John Q. can't afford and his health insurance won't cover, he vows to do whatever it will take to keep his son alive. With time and options running out, a desperate gamble becomes his only hope—he takes the emergency room hostage. As John Q. barricades himself inside the hospital along with his unwitting group of emergency room hostages, many of them in need of medical care themselves, he faces off with a veteran police hostage negotiator and a quick-tempered police chief who wants to bring a swift end to the stand-off.

Study questions
Before viewing this film, or at least at the beginning of the conversation, take time to read a couple Bible stories. Start with Abraham and Isaac, when God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son (Genesis 22:1-14). Then read the story of Samson (Judges 13-16), focusing particularly on the end (16:23-31) when Samson sacrificed himself on behalf of the Israelites. Finish with the account of Jesus’ crucifixion (John 18:1-19:42, or any of the others).

The film opens with a scene of a BMW driving on a mountain road, obviously at excess speeds. 

• What are your impressions of the driver? (Answers may be: rich, stupid, reckless, self-centered, bold, brave, etc.)

• Do your impressions of her change over the course of the film? If so, how?

As the story develops, we learn that Michael needs a heart transplant, and that the family insurance won’t cover the operation. There are a number of people who react to this news.

• How are the reactions of the following groups or individuals different?
  Michael’s family
  Dr. Turner, the heart surgeon
  The hospital, embodied by administrator Rebecca Payne
  The insurance company
  The emergency room doctor, and the other people in the ER

Ms. Payne, the hospital administrator, pleads her case with John and Kimberly Archibald saying, “There’s a limit to our generosity.” 

• Is she right? Is there a limit to generosity, or is the hospital simply being greedy?  

During the standoff, there is some time when not much is happening both inside the ER and outside. During this time, John gets asked what he’s waiting for. “I’m waiting on a miracle—waiting on an act of God.”

• How does God work?

• Does God answer our prayers, sending miracles just in time?

• How else might God answer prayers?

John expects a miracle, but doesn’t seem to consider that in the big picture, Michael is just one person in a very large world.

• Who is most important? Whose life is the most valuable?

• How do we determine the value of a person?

• Are there times when we feel forced to make a decision about the value of one human over another? When?

Read the story of the widow’s offering (Luke 21:1-4) and of the rich man who came to Jesus (Luke 18:18-23). The world often measures the worth of a person on how much they earn, how much they own or how much influence or power they exert. Jesus’ standard is obviously different.

• How? How well does the world fit together with Jesus’ standard?

Before the movie (or at the beginning of the study), you read a couple sections of scripture. 

• What do they have in common? (sacrifice)

John was ready to sacrifice his life in order to save Michael’s life.

• How is this similar to the sacrifice stories in scripture? How is it different?

(Leaders: Please be careful with this section. There may be young people in your group involved in abusive family situations or in abusive relationships. Remember, it’s not sacrifice if we’re forced into it. For each of the people in the scripture passages, making a sacrifice is the choice of the individual concerned.)

• What would you be willing to sacrifice?

• For whom would you sacrifice your life (if anyone)?

• How much would you sacrifice for a stranger? 

The movie has a happy ending. However, for many people who face similar situations, there is no happy ending.

• Where do we find a happy ending (hope) even in the midst of sorrow and despair? (Go back over John 18:1-19:42; then go on, reading the resurrection story in John 20:1-18).

It’s always good to end with the hope and promise of the resurrection. I would encourage you, whatever happens in your discussion, to get to hope and promise before ending your conversation.