Dallas Buyers Club

Director: Jean-Marc Vallee

Genre: Biographical Drama

Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Jared Leto

Distributed by: Focus Features

Release Date: November 1, 2013

My Rating: 8.5/10

Canadian Filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallee (The Young Victoria, 2009) brings to the big screen the true story of Ron Woodroof (McConaughey), a young electrician and rodeo cowboy from Dallas who is diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in 1985 after numerous sexual encounters with drug-consuming prostitutes and others. Told by his doctors, Dr. Sevard (Denis O'Hare) and Dr. Eve Saks (Garner) that he has only 30 days left to live, Ron initially reacts with aggression and violence, denying the possibility that he could ever contract such a disease. He lives much more than 30 days (several years), and quickly becomes ostracized by his co-workers and friends, who begin to suspect him of being gay, and is fired. After several days of suffering, Ron decides to return to the hospital, where Dr. Saks explains to him that a antiretroviral drug named AZT is being tested to potentially treat patients with AIDS and prolong their life. AZT is, however, the only drug that is at that time approved by the FDA, many other medicines being only approved in Europe. Saks goes on to explain that in order to test the effectiveness of the drug, half of the patients in clinical trials are being given the actual drug, and the other half a placebo. Ron continues to be frustrated, determined to find any cure as quickly as possible and begins a serious research investigation into his illness, taking extreme and even illegal measure from bribing a hospital worker to provide him with AZT and masquerading as a priest and importing non-FDA-approved drugs from Mexico across the border, and eventually starting his very own "Dallas Buyers Club" with Rayon (Leto), a drug-addicted transgender woman whom he meets at the hospital who is also diagnosed with HIV. At this illegal business, Ron and Rayon begin selling fixed monthly memberships to purchase non-approved drugs and it becomes a national sensation. The pair of ill men soon become pursued by the FDA, FBI and other federal government agencies determined to put an end to these illicit activities.

This film is a very powerful and poignant portrayal of one man's struggle and perseverance to do whatever it takes to be cured from this illness which, during the late 80s, was still very much a mystery and an anathema to many. Although the character of Woodroof initially appears like a vice-filled low-life who is also incredibly aggressive and gruff, his humanity eventually comes out and reflects itself in numerous ways, particularly in his growing friendship with kind-hearted and loyal Rayon, toward whom he is initially hostile due to his sexual identity. Both McConaughey and Leto are phenomenal, both deservedly earning an Academy Award for their visceral performances of two very distinct yet comparably strong individuals. Jennifer Garner also delivers a great performance as a woman who is on her own quest to right the wrongs and injustices that prevail in the way the medical industry treats special patients like those with HIV/AIDS.

Some of the things with which Ron Woodroof gets away with are at times difficult to believe, but many different obstacles arise throughout the movie that fuel his determination to be cured. The themes and subjects captured by the film may seem very harsh and some of the material outdated, but they nonetheless reflect many of the brutal realities that many homosexual, transgender, and HIV-positive individuals face on a daily basis still today. There is no denying that a man who ended up living seven years longer with this illness than licensed doctors initially predicted he would is a man who is nothing short of a miracle who serves as a precedent for multiple others afflicted with life-threatening illnesses.

As McConaughey would say, to this film I say "Alright, alright, alright!"