Dallas Buyers Club – Staying Alive
McConaughey, in a career best, plays real life Texan rodeo cowboy Ron Woodroof, who is diagnosed with HIV and given 30 days to live. Woodroof, who tells the doctor, “I ain’t no fag,” struggles to come to terms with his shocking death sentence and continues to drink and snort coke with hookers, floozies and drug addicts. When his health starts to deteriorate and with virtually no T-cell count, sheer determination to live leads him to embark on a mission to procure life-saving drug concoctions, not yet approved by the FDA in the U.S.
The skeletal and sweating Woodroof may be an ignorant homophobe with a penchant for illicit activities; he is also resourceful, courageous and opinionated. It’s refreshing to watch McConaughey strip himself of his chiseled body and laid back Southern charm for this gritty and demanding role in Dallas Buyers Club (DBC).
Directed by Canadian filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallée from a brilliantly-crafted screenplay by Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack, DBC is an engrossing biography about one man’s monumental challenge to stay alive in a country with very limited medical and pharmaceutical resources and even less tolerance in the early days of the AIDS epidemic (1985).
Shunned by his bigoted pals, Woodroof travels to Mexico to meet with an alternative doctor played by cult favorite Griffin Dunne, who treats AIDS patients with vitamins, supplements and non-approved drugs. Woodroof manages to smuggle drug contraband into the US and teams up with Rayon, a transgender heroin addict with AIDS, convincingly played by Jared Leto (hello Oscar!). Rayon, an unlikely business partner, has the Rolodex of contacts and a drive to stay alive.
As the story unfolds, we begin to see Woodroof’s transformation, or rather, metamorphosis, both physically and emotionally. As he gets close with Rayon and all of his gay acquaintances and sick customers, his homophobia gradually begins to wane.
Simultaneously he realizes he has tapped into an underdeveloped gray drug market and Dallas Buyers Club is born with a hefty $400 membership fee. Word quickly spreads even to his proper doctor’s patients and the venture is lucrative. As time goes by Woodroof begins to enjoy being the main man, who restores dignity and prolongs the lives of hundreds of marginalized AIDS victims even those who could not pay. Woodroof hustled and managed to add 2,457 days to his life, finally succumbing to AIDS in 1992.
Jennifer Garner as Dr. Eve Saks turns out a believable performance as the doctor who first diagnoses Woodroof, an electrician, who comes to the hospital with an unrelated work injury. She gradually sees the dark side of the medical/pharmaceutical industry and orders her trial patients to have lower dosages of the toxic anti-viral drug AZT, which was being peddled by large corporations at that time. Woodroof and Dr. Eve develop a touching relationship, which is welcomed in this sad tale.
DBC is very well paced with raw handheld camera work and barely any humor or sympathetic music to help us through the ordeal. Apparently the script had been floating around Hollywood for years before McConaughey committed to getting the project off the ground. With over 22 million in box office revenue and multiple award nomination and wins, the gamble paid off. Shedding a scary 50 pounds to play the part, McConaughey delivers a very powerful, Oscar worthy performance and will join the pantheon of unforgettable protagonists. Jared Leto, as the fragile Rayon, is a cert for Best Supporting Actor and should start perfecting his acceptance speech.