Dallas Buyers Club

The first moment we see Matthew McConaughey in Dallas Buyers Club, we are shocked.  He looks skeletal, almost as if he is wasting away right up there on the screen before our eyes.  We almost wonder why the friends he hangs out with in the opening scenes don't seem to notice or care.  McConaughey reportedly lost 38 pounds for the role of Ron Woodruff, a real life man from Texas who learned back in 1985 that he had AIDS, and that he only had 30 days left to live.  The film tells the story of how he went against the system, and lived for another seven years. 

We can see why Hollywood would want to tell such a story, and while the real life Ron ultimately did some good things, he was not really a good person.  The movie does not forget this, nor does it sand off any of his rough edges, which is admirable in a way.  He is portrayed here as selfish, racist, frequently drunk, and often rude.  He does show a softer side now and then, but for the most part, we admire Ron for what he did to help other people just like him survive, rather than for who he is.  As the film opens, Ron's life mainly comprises of his job, his friends down at the bar, lots of sex and drugs, and making shady bets on rodeos.  Then he collapses one day while on the job, and wakes up at the hospital, where two doctors (played by Denis O'Hare and Jennifer Garner) give him the grim news and the 30 day death sentence.

Ron is of the mind that only "sissies" like Rock Hudson gets the AIDS virus, so he does not believe them, and goes on trying to live his life of hard drinking, hard drugs, and sex.  But, he can tell he is getting weaker, does some research, and finally accepts his fate.  But Ron will not go quietly.  He starts out by bribing a hospital janitor to get his hands on a drug known as AZT, which at the time was the only drug approved by the FDA to battle the virus.  It works for a little while, but ultimately, Ron feel worse.  Then he hears about some experimental drugs over in Mexico that have not yet been approved in America.  He takes a trip over the border, and it's there that he meets an exiled American pharmacist (Griffin Dunne) who informs him that AZT is toxic to patients, and gives him something better to help hold off his illness. 

Before long, Ron is feeling better, and he starts making regular trips overseas to get unauthorized drugs in bulk.  He also comes up with the idea to start charging other patients $400 for a membership fee, where they can get the treatments they need through a "buyers club".  This way, he's not selling unapproved drugs to other patients, he's merely selling membership to his club.  He is eventually joined up by a transsexual named Rayon (an unrecognizable Jared Leto), who also has AIDS, and becomes Ron's business partner.  Their relationship is not a sweet or sentimental one.  Ron is often uncomfortable being around Rayon, and Rayon exploits this by frequently flirting with him, or hanging up pictures of Boy George in Ron's office.  As impressive as McConaughey's transformation is, Leto's is even more impressive, and gives the more memorable performance of the two.  Sure, it's obviously the flashier performance, but Leto succeeds just as much at bring subtlety and humanity to his character, as he does in portraying the flamboyant side of his character.

The main crux that makes up the plot of Dallas Buyers Club is how the government and the FDA get involved, and try to shut down Ron's operation of selling drugs that have not yet been approved.  They are completely behind the AZT drug, and think Ron's efforts will prevent them from making a fortune on selling it to millions.  I can see the point the film is trying to make, and how it is criticizing the food and drug agencies from hiding facts and ingredients from the public.  And yet, it's not all that effective, because the movie never really seems angry enough for some reason.  It makes a very valid point, but it never quite goes deep enough, nor does it seem to get truly passionate about it until toward the end, when Ron starts crashing speeches and meetings held by the government agencies.  This is a movie that has a very good message behind it, but I don't think it does enough to ram the point home.

What I will instead remember are the lead performances by McDonaughey and Leto.  They are the main reasons to watch the film, and ultimately why the film succeeds.  I've heard that Hollywood has been trying to get this movie made for roughly 20 years now, and that different stars have been attached to the role of Ron Woodruff over the years.  I've also learned that the character of Rayon was made up by the filmmakers, but I really don't mind, as I think the character fits just fine into the story and serves a purpose, as well as gives Ron someone to play off of during the film.  The film also works as a grim reminder of a period of time when AIDS was largely misunderstood, and people lived in fear of those who had it.  What doesn't work is the romantic subplot between Ron and the Jennifer Garner character (who was also made up for this film), which feels underdeveloped, and distracts from the stuff that makes the film strong.

I can imagine Dallas Buyers Club getting some nominations this year for the two lead performances, but I think the movie itself falls just a little bit short compared to some of the other big movies that it's competing against.  Still, this is a good movie that could have been a better one if it had been just a little bit angrier about the subject it was tackling.

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