Dallas Buyers Club

My impression of Matthew McConaughey was of a light weight actor doing romantic comedies and at every opportunity taking off his shirt showing off his jacked body and PhotoShopped abbs. Recently his acting credentials improved with pictures like Lincoln Lawyer and Magic Mike. As Ron Woodroof, McConaughey ups his game. His acting in this role is memorable. The anger and desperation which McConaughey projects is palatable. Ron Woodroof is in a life and death struggle and McConaughey is pitch perfect portraying Woodroof’s tenacity to live. The physical challenge of the role required McConaughey to lose 50 pounds (so much for my acting career).

Woodroof is diagnosed with AIDS and in 80’s treatment of AIDS was embryonic and basically a gamble. Ron is given a short time to live by his doctors which he rejects telling them to go f__k themselves (this was before Obmacare). Ron appears to be a womanizing alcoholic cocaine drug user, which he was. But he was smart and very well organized and proceeds to get drugs from outside of the US which are not FDA approved. His battle with the FDA is one of the feel good moments of the film.

Woodroof is a homophobe, but he puts his emotions in check when he accepts that gays are lucrative clients.  A center piece of the movie is Woodroof’s relationship with Rayon, a transgender woman played by Jared Lato. The relationship goes from repulsion to acceptance to commitment. Jared Lato is outstanding in this role. Any actor can put on a dress; the trick is to make the audience see beyond the dress. Lato portrays Rayon’s hopelessness with sad eyes, an emaciated body and cheap make up. Lato’s weight he lost for the role is alarming. I think an Oscar nomination is justified here.

Another character is played by Jennifer Garner, one of Woodroof’s doctors.  She plays the role with limited emotion, but she does use the F word, once. She did a good job but this was not a transformative role for her.  Then there is Steve Zahn who plays the Ron’s cop buddy. Zahn does not have much air time and the role is pedestrian but he is sincere and he is always fun to watch.

The last scene is a very poignant metaphor for the movie. Don’t miss it.

p.s.-This is a true story.