Dallas Buyers Club (2013)

Director: Jean-Marc Vallée

Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto, Jennifer Garner

In 1985 Dallas, electrician and hustler Ron Woodroof works around the system to help AIDS patients get the medication they need after he is diagnosed with the disease.

‘Dallas Buyers Club’ is set in 1985, and refers to a club set up by AIDS victim Ron Woodroof to provide ‘natural’ medication for those suffering from the disease.

Back in 1985, when AIDS started making headlines, it was mostly believed only homosexuals contracted the disease. So, when rodeo man Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey) tests positive for HIV, he writes it off as a hospital error, being a homophobe. There’s a lot of bad language here, and a many smoking scenes.

Being a trial patient for developing a new drug myself (not HIV-related), I found ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ very interesting, and relevant. Matthew McConaughey delivered one of the best performances of his career (and deservedly won an Oscar for Best Actor). Interestingly enough, despite being a homophone, Ron befriends a gay man, Rayon, who also suffers from AIDS. Rayon is excellently portrayed by Jared Leto, and a ray of sunshine in an otherwise morbid and somewhat depressing movie. Both actors lost a lot of weight for their characters, and the performances were believable.

‘Dallas Buyers Club’ is a truly moving story. Despite being a mostly depressing movie, it also sends out a positive message, and was actually a beautiful story.

‘Dallas Buyers Club’ was a huge success, receiving universal critical acclaim. The film received 173 award nominations, winning 84, including 3 Oscars (Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Makeup and Hairstyling). It earned $55.7 million on a $5 million budget.

Would I watch it again? I don’t think so.