Dallas Buyers Club

DALLAS BUYERS CLUB

Director : Jean Marc - Vallee

Year : 2014

Genre : Drama

Rating : ****1/2

 

Nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture, Jean Marc - Vallee's 'Dallas Buyers Club' has become one of the most highly regarded American films of the last 5 years. Starring Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto and Jennifer Garner, the movie tells the true story of a homophobic Texan who, after discovering he had HIV, set out on a daring mission to smuggle illegal drugs into the States to give to the thousands of dying AIDS patients who had been denied proper treatment from the FDA. Normally, this type of movie substitutes character or actual plot for emotional moments, distracting our usually critical and more analytical minds with exploitative and manipulative moments of forced melancholy and over egged sentimentality.

However, the brilliant 'Dallas Buyers Club' does not do this. Featuring a career best performance from Matthew McConaughey as the AIDS stricken Woodroof, the film paints a world of unbelievable terror, hopelessness and utter betrayal and through his extraordinary central performance, we are pulled into each one of the various characters predicaments, psyches and overall outlooks on life. Based on the remarkable true story of one mans fight against a corrupt and completely blind health organisation, 'Dallas Buyers Club' is ultimately a testament to self belief, compassion and the desperate desire to stay alive. 

Before he is told he has the dreaded HIV virus, Ron Woodroof is a man on top of the world. He owns a successful rodeo and is popular with many of the women of Dallas. However, after being told he has 30 days to live, Woodroof's life suddenly takes a dramatic turn and he begins an unprecedented operation to smuggle drugs into the country that will help him as well as the thousands suffering from the debilitating sickness. With the help of transgender Rayon (Leto), Woodroof sets up the eponymous 'Dallas Buyers Club', a subscription service for those who need the various forbidden pills and lotions to stay alive.

Director Jean Marc - Vallee is a director of style. Known for 'The Young Victoria' and 'Cafe De Flore', Vallee is a filmmaker who is renowned for beautiful camera work and sumptuous cinematography. However, he puts all of his auteuresque sensibilties behind him and directs 'Dallas Buyers Club' in a much more rustic and contemporary way. Making very good use of handheld shots and actual location filming, Vallee teleports us right into the middle of an AIDS ravaged Dallas; a Dallas ruled by paralysing fear and terrific dread. This atmosphere of doom and despair works to the movies advantage and thanks to the unanimously strong performances, it is very easy to forget that 'Dallas Buyers Club' is indeed a film. In fact, there are many moments throughout the film which evoke the extraordinary HIV/AIDS documentary 'How To Survive A Plague'; an astonishing account of the men and women who fought to get the right drugs approved while they themselves were dying.

 

 

From 'Magic Mike' to 'Mud' to 'Killer Joe', Matthew McConaughey has gone from being one of the more annoying regulars of the romantic comedy genre to becoming one of the most versatile and most watchable actors working in American cinema today. His characters determination to do right by those he was once prejudiced against is truly amazing and McConaughey finds just the right balance between empathy and not losing the focus and true beliefs of his character. For the role, the actor lost 50 pounds and completely transformed his body from his usual 'Magic Mike'-ish buff into a terrifying skeletal shadow of his former self. Of course, it is not the first time an actor has lost weight to play a role but unlike other instances, it never feels like the actors body is doing  the performance for him. His body weight helps to (ironically) add an extra dimension to the character and allows the believability of Ron Woodroof and the pain he faced on a daily basis to shine through. At times this can be difficult to watch and there are many moments throughout the picture which are genuinely upsetting, exactly how it should be.

Supporting McConaughey is an amazing Academy Award nominated performance from Jared Leto, an actor who I feel has never got the recognition he deserves. 'American Psycho', 'Requiem For A Dream', 'Panic Room', 'Lord Of War'; all of these films feature fantastic turns from the accomplished star and not one of them earned Leto an Oscar. Now however, he may have a chance for portraying the transgender AIDS victim Rayon, who provides the movie with a lot of laughs but also a lot of heart. Outrageously flamboyant, Leto certainly pushes his characterisation to extremes and while for some it may be a little stereotypical and offensive, for me it was the perfect balance and catalyst to Woodroof''s unfounded homophobic prejudices.

'Dallas Buyers Club' is yet another contender in an already tight Oscars race and once again I say, I am so glad that I am not a member of the Academy who has to choose which movie is the absolute best of the year. Every single film has been golden and each one deserves special recognition and 'Dallas Buyers Club' is no different. It tells a story that is astonishingly powerful, it features career best performances from both Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto and Jean Marc - Vallee's direction is pitch perfect. The story that the film is based on may not be as culturally relevant anymore but I do hope that it stands as a monument to the bravery and heart of Ron Woodroof and to those who needlessly died thanks to the neglect and prejudice of a corrupt and single minded government.