Dallas Buyers Club (2014)

 The next film in the award season bundle is 'Dallas Buyers Club'. There seems to be a set bunch of topics that if you base your story on one of these ideas and release it around awards time you are more than likely to get a whole host of nominations. One of these is the topic of AID's, especially in the 80's and 90's in the USA. The political and social issues raised by this period and this 'epidemic' seems to make for a bloody good movie (e.g. Philadelphia, Peter's Friends, Rent are a few examples), so let's get cracking with this one.

 Dallas Buyers Club is based on the real life story of Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey), an electrician and very homophobic Texan who, after having sex with a drug addict, discovers he has HIV. After being told he only has 30 days to live and that AZT, the new drugs on trial prescribed to HIV suffers, gives patients a poor standard of life, Ron decides to start importing foreign drugs unapproved by the FDA. To get around the illegality of his actions Ron, with the help of a transgender HIV positive woman Rayon (Jared Leto), instead sells membership to the Dallas Buyers Club and gives the imported drugs to members for free as part of the membership. This is basically the story of one (not very nice) man changing his attitudes and saving lives in the process.

 Instead of waffling on about all the cinematic aspects I will just simply say that visually it is an incredible film and manages to depict the desperation of these individuals alongside the attitudes of the times and the part of the world this film is set. It is perfect for the films story and feel, and I am going to stop there because the real point of address with this film is the acting. Matthew McConaughey has already won pretty much all of the best actor awards going so far, and Jared Leto isn't too far behind with the supporting actor nods. The big question is, however, do these guys deserve the multitude of awards they are getting? Is their acting really that good? In short, the answer is hell yes. Their transformation into these characters is stunning and I'm not talking about the physical aspect of things. To say that not that many years ago McConaughey was starring in films like 'Failure To Launch' and Leto was more famous for his rock band 30 Seconds To Mars than he was for his acting, they genuinely produce incredible one in a lifetime performances. McConaughey somehow manages to make one of the most aggravating men seem likeable by the end of the film, and Leto's portrayal of a transgender woman is touching, subtle and honest, not the stereotyped portrayal often seen in these kinds of films. These incredible performances are only enhanced by the extreme physical transformation undertaken by both actors to demonstrate the horrific effects of HIV on an individual's appearance. McConaughey lost three and a half stone while Leto lost two and a half for his role and whilst this is vital for the film and emphasis the struggle of these people and their situation it is, without a doubt, the performances that overshadow this physical transformation by a mile. As well as this, to move away from the two main actors, the rest of the cast provide excellent support with a particular stand out performance by Jennifer Garner as the doctor who eventually decides to help Ron Woodroof with his mission to give AID's sufferers the drugs they need to save their lives.

To sum everything up, I really couldn't give this film higher praise. It is funny, moving, politically and socially charged and to top it all off, hugely entertaining. It's in cinemas now so why not pop along, grab some popcorn and go and see it (maybe not for Valentine's Day though).