Dallas Buyers Club

Director: Jean-Marc Vallée
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Jared Leto
Length: 117 minutes
Country: USA

Those who have been following the awards circuit this year will know that the buzz surrounding Dallas Buyers Club rests predominantly on two factors – Matthew McConaughey’s Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role, and the nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Jared Leto. Both actors are front-runners in their respective categories, so when watching the film, one cannot help but analyse their characterisations and performances in the context of their pursuit of Academy glory. However, the film itself is terrific in virtually all aspects, from editing to musical score, and if you were a fan of the hair and costume design in American Hustle, then make sure to take a look at the outrageously brilliant moustaches sported by most of the male characters.

In the last few years, McConaughey has taken on increasingly ambitious roles in films such as Mud, Killer Joe and The Lincoln Lawyer, but his character in Dallas Buyers Club is far and away his most challenging, and the risk definitely paid off. As Ron Woodroof, he partakes in an unprotected threesome, is hunted down by a group of Rodeo gamblers, assaulted by a police officer, electrocuted, diagnosed as HIV-positive and given 30 days to live – and that’s only the first ten minutes of the film. After learning of his diagnosis, Woodroof starts investigating different medicines for his illness, in the process butting heads with the FDA and staff at the local hospital, who are admitting AIDS patients for drug experimentation. In his fight for his own life, he ends up helping many of those in his situation, slowly progressing from a common piece of homophobic trailer-trash to a committed AIDS activist.

Dallas Buyers Club is a beautifully written, crafted and performed piece of  work…

Admittedly, the narrative would come across as trite, were it not for the fact that Dallas Buyers Club is based on a true story. What saves this film from becoming a generic feel-good chapter is its sense of humour: upon discovering that he has weeks to live, we see Woodruff praying in front of candles, only for the camera to pan backwards, revealing that he is in the middle of a strip club. Several politically incorrect yet hilariously delivered one-liners, such as Woodruff’s advice to his HIV-affected clients ‘Watch what you eat and who you eat’ cause the film to remain an upbeat character study rather than a moralistic tale.

Jared Leto, returning to feature films after a four-year hiatus is a revelation as Rayon, a transgender woman also diagnosed as HIV positive. Utterly captivating from the moment he hops onto McConaughey’s hospital bed, Leto is the heart of the film. Whilst Ron Woodroof is made an outcaste due to his HIV and the (incorrect) assumptions this causes his friends to make about his sexuality, Rayon makes for a far better reflection of the victims of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s – a minority in regards to both her gender and sexual orientation, trying to find a life for herself in a world which refuses to cater for those who live beyond the traditional American lifestyle. Leto’s Rayon is troubled and vulnerable, yet funny, likeable and highly resilient.

Dallas Buyers Club is a beautifully written, crafted and performed piece of work, and its only real flaw is that it was clearly produced with the awards season in mind. The lead performances are phenomenal and there will undoubtedly be huge critical outcry if either McConaughey or Leto fail to win in their respective Oscar categories. Out of this year’s Oscar selection, Dallas Buyers Club is definitely worth a view.

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