Dallas Buyers Club
CUSTOMER REVIEW
"Dallas Buyers Club" (2013 release; 117 min.) brings the (real life) story of Ron Woodroof (played by Matthew McConaughey). As the movie opens, it is July, 1985 (we see a newspaper headline about Rock Hudson being outed with AIDS), and we are at a rodeo in Dallas where Woodroof is getting it on with two girls at the same time, while also placing bets on rodeo riders. A picture is quickly painted of Woodroof as the Texan wild and crazy guy. Yet soon we see him struggling, coughing and generally not feeling well and when he is admitted in the hospital, he gets the shocking news that he is HIV positive and is given only 30 days to live by the doctors. Woodroof goes ballistic and refuses to accept his fate, only to find that the FDA is allowing only one approved drug (ATZ) on the market. Woodroof eventually finds alternative medications in Mexico. To tell you much more would ruin your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.
Several comments: first and foremost, let's talk about Matthew McConaughey's performance. He will simply blow you away. The very first shot of him (a head shot, in which he physically already looks terrible) is pretty shocking, to be honest (McConaughey reportedly lost 40 lbs. for the film). This role continue's McConaughey's recent string of top notch performances (Mud, Killer Joe, Bernie, The Paperboy, just to name those), and surely he will (or at least should) get strong consideration for a Best Actor Oscar nomination. (It just makes you wish that McConaughey wouldn't have wasted so many years playing those tiresome rom-com roles time and again.) Second, much has been said as well about Jared Leto's role. He first appears about 30 min. into the movie as the cross-gender dressing gay Rayon, to become Woodroof's business partner. It most certainly is a great performance (and is openly touted for Best Supporting Actor Oscar) but in my book, it doesn't come anywhere close to McConaughey's. Jennifer Garner has a small role as one of the Dallas Mercy hospital doctors, and gets completely blown away by both McConaughey and Leto. Third, this movie is most capably directed by Canadian Jean-Marc Vallee, who most recently brought us the excellent "Café de Flore". Fourth, the movie does not put either the FDA or Big Pharma in a kind light, as we are given the impression that both are in cahoots and do not care what is best for the public at large (I have no idea to what extent this was or is the case). Last but not least, there is an excellent collection of songs featured in the movie, with many staples from the 1970s and 80s including a number of T Rex songs (Rayon is obsessed with T Rex's Marc Bolan). But beware: the movie soundtrack (which is available here on Amazon) features primarily music "inspired by", rather then "from" the movie, and is not an accurate reflection of what you hear in the movie.
"Dallas Buyers Club" makes for an emotionally invested and moving experience that will tuck at your heart. But the acting performance from McConaughey is what makes this movie profoundly memorable. The screening I saw this act recently here in Cincinnati (where it's been playing already several weeks) was PACKED, leading me to think that this movie will find a larger audience, which is great news. Bottom line, "Dallas Buyer's Club" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!