Dallas Buyers Club ***** (2013, Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto, Jennifer Garner, Denis O’Hare, Steve Zahn) – Movie Review

Dallas Buyers Club is a stunning experience, an incredibly forceful blow to the brain and the emotions. The movie is a remarkable tour de force of writing and directing, with electrifying performances by Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto.

They won Oscars and Golden Globes for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, plus a third Oscar for Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling (Adruitha Lee, Robin Mathews). The film’s three other Oscar nominations included Best Motion Picture, Best Original Screenplay and Best Film Editing.

McConaughey plays obnoxious rodeo bull rider, electrician and hustler Ron Woodroof, who in 1985 Dallas is addicted to smoking, drinking, cocaine and casual sex. In hospital on a work injury, he’s diagnosed as HIV+ and given 30 days to live. Woodroof’s angry search for whatever drug could best prolong his life leads him to Mexico and a rogue American physician there, Dr Vass (played by Griffin Dunne).

Woodroof brings a carload of drugs unavailable in America back to Dallas and then proceeds to work around the system to help himself and soon other AIDS patients get the medication they need, selling drugs to other HIV+ sufferers in the Dallas Buyers Club.

Along the way in hospital, the racist, homophobic redneck Woodroof meets Rayon (Leto), a sensitive, street-savvy, would-be transsexual desperate for a kind word. After a highly and unpromising shaky start, they become unlikely partners in Woodroof’s business.

McConaughey and Leto each lost approximately 40 pounds for their roles. Their greatly changed physical appearance will startle and maybe scare you, but it is extremely effective in getting across the struggles of those infected with HIV virus in the 1980’s. Boy, have these two actors suffered for their art.

A de-glamourised Jennifer Garner is also excellent in loyal star support as Eve, the nurse who helps Woodroof. It is an underwritten role, but Garner does quite a lot with it. It’s good to see her in a character part.

The film is conscientiously and intensely directed by fired-up Canadian film-maker Jean-Marc Vallée (The Young Victoria) in TV documentary style. Though this is rather plain visually, without camera tricks or flourishes, it has the great virtue of concentrating on the riveting tragic story, the important issues involved and especially the brilliant performances.

I wrote last year that Mud was the best performance McConaughey has so far given. But now he has topped it with this one. It’s not about the crazy weight loss, it’s a truly great performance. He’s astounding, and he has the whole movie to carry.

Leto’s turn is inevitably even showier, though there’s much less of it. There’s an aspect of it that is quite brave of him to do this role, but he’s up for it and the flack he might receive for doing it. Completely transforming himself, he makes a sensational character of Rayon. It’s a measure of how good he is that, when he isn’t on screen, the movie seems less brilliant. Leto has not acted in six years. Let’s hope he focuses on it again. However he is in his band, he’s too good to lose from cinema.

Leto was criticised at the Santa Barbara Film Festival on 6 February 2014. An audience member shouted: ‘You will never be Rayon. Trans misogyny does not deserve an award. You don’t deserve an award for portraying a trans woman, because you’re a man.’ Leto replied: ‘Because I’m a man, I don’t deserve to play that part? So you would hold a role against someone who happened to be gay or lesbian? They can’t play a straight part?’

Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack wrote the commendable original screenplay. It’s vital to involve audiences that it’s as least as much dialogue-led and character-led as issue heavy. And they’ve made a really good job of that.

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© Derek Winnert 2014 derekwinnert.com

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