Going in to this movie, I really was not quite sure what I would expect. Based on the movie trailers, all I knew was that Matthew McConaughey was supposed to be amazing in it and Jared Leto played a transvestite. And I had an inkling that AIDS may be involved, based on the skin lesion on McConaughey's forehead. Well, my suspicious we're confirmed. What was surprising was the immense power that this film showed.
If you spoke to me a few years ago about Matthew McConaughey being an all but confirmed Oscar nominee, I may have just laughed in your face. The guy from Fool's Gold and Failure to Launch? That can't be right. In the last few years, however, this man has consistently proved us all wrong in our denial of his talent. All in the span of a few years he thrived in roles in Mud, The Lincoln Lawyer, The Wolf of Wall Street, and even in Magic Mike. Especially in the past year, he is showing a range few believed existed in him, and he once again excels in Dallas Buyers Club.
McConaughey plays Ron Woodruff, a narrow minded Texas man who lives life recklessly. Early on, we learn that he has HIV, a disease which had causes little known in 1985 when the story takes place. In fact, it seems that almost everybody believes he got the disease from homosexual behavior when, in fact, it was probably due to the immense amount of unprotected sex he had. Knowing he only has a short time to live, Woodruff becomes active in going around the system and supplying medication for those suffering this then fatal and misunderstood disease.
Through this transformation, Woodruff encounters Rayon, played expertly by Jared Leto. Rayon is a transvestite, also suffering from AIDS, who helps Woodruff sell life elongating drugs smuggled from Mexico. Only reason they are smuggled is because they are not FDA approved while AZT, a more toxic choice, is being shipped by the pharmaceutical industry. The two create the Dallas Buyers Club. They don't sell drugs, they sell memberships. Once a member, AIDS sufferers can receive all the pills they need, free of charge.
This film is probably the first film since Philadelphia that teaches the viewing public about the AIDS crisis. It explains that it can infect all types and the lengths that people went to receive care when they felt that the pharmaceutical industry was letting them down. This is an important and powerful film and should be required viewing for all those who do not understand the enormity and desperation that was the early stages of the disease that still captivates the global attention.
Bottom line: Expert acting and and a powerful storyline makes this a film that must be experienced by everyone.
Grade: A+
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