John Quincy Archibald on Blue collar worker Denzel Washington

In John Quincy Archibald Denzel Washington tis salt of the earth Chicago factory worker John Quincy Archibald. Financially, things are grim for John (his work hours have been cut and his car has been repossessed) but his loving wife Denise (Elise) and extrovert 10 year old son Michael (Smith) keep things cheery - notably with the latter's enthusiastic body-builder impressions.

The cheer is replaced by desperation, however, when Michael falls ill. According to cardiac surgeon Dr Turner (Woods) "Mike's heart is useless. He's going to need a heart transplant or he's going to die". Problem is, John's health insurance won't cover it, so Mike's care is deemed a "cash account". Hard-nosed hospital administrator Rebecca Payne (Heche) is prompt to the point: "You're looking at a minimum of $250,000." and "The hospital has a very strict policy with cash patients." Ergo, Mr and Mrs Archibald should say goodbye to their son.

This is understandably not a favourable solution, so John does what any ordinary chap would do when the options run out - he gets a gun and takes over the ER, taking Turner, and a few staff and patients hostage. Cue the arrival of police negotiator Frank Grimes (Duvall), then flashy but hardline media-courting police chief Monroe (Liotta), and perma-tan TV anchorman Tuck Lambley (Johansson). Soon the place is swarming with cops, crowds and the media, lapping up the potentially violent human interest story.

Source http://www.channel4.com/film/reviews/film.jsp?id=104811&section=review