McConaughey takes this bull by the horn in his determined portrayal of an imperfect messenger.
Ron Woodroof, who finds himself in a fight he can’t win, but would ultimately find a measure of salvation, his own. Hello again moviegoers, today I will be taking a look at “Dallas Buyers Club” which is set in 1985 and based on true events of the life of a seedy and promiscuous electrician, Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey)who, when a work accident sends him to the hospital, would subsequently be diagnosed with HIV.
‘Dallas Buyers Club’ (3 sweet potatoes out of four) Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto, Jennifer Garner; Steve Zahn; Director: Jean – Marc Vallee; Genre: Drama; Rated R; Runtime: 117 minutes; opens Friday, November 1st in select theatres.
Ron’s denial soon turns to desperation after he is given just thirty days to live. A rodeo enthusiast and homophobe, Ron finds himself isolated from friends who now see him as he once saw those afflicted with the virus he now has.
Ever the hustler, Ron is able to score some of the experimental drug AZT which at the time was the only drug approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) to treat HIV/AIDS. At the hospital, Ron is treated by Dr. Eve Saks (played by Jennifer Garner). Saks is empathetic and an idealist. She still believes in the integrity of the system until a little detective work helps to open her eyes.
At the hospital, Ron also crosses paths with an AIDS patient Rayon (played by Jared Leto) who gives a strong performance as a warm-hearted and charming transvestite. For their roles both actors lost excessive amounts of weight, nearly forty pounds for McConaughey. Ron and Rayon would in time form a bond that would have been hard-pressed to see evolve under any other circumstance.
Abruptly cut off from his supply of AZT Ron finds himself at a clinic in Mexico where he becomes aware of the dangers of AZT. He is also introduced to different and more effective treatments for HIV/AIDS and research that’s being suppressed by the FDA at the behest of ‘big pharma’.
Ever the hustler, Ron quickly surmises there is a fortune to be made and he and Rayon eventually opens of the Dallas Buyers Club. Their club is one of a number of establishments that opened up across the country that offers alternative treatments for free, after the cost of a membership. This gets the full attention of the FDA and the pharmaceutical industry which will do whatever it takes to see the Dallas Buyers club and other like it go away.
Whatever his motives were in the beginning self-preservation, opportunism, the sex, drugs, and alcohol infused lifestyle of Ron Woodroof takes him down a path where his later activism, which included taking the FDA to court, would raise the awareness of alternative treatments for HIV/AIDS, and the conflict of interest that exists within the FDA. Ron Woodroof would out live his original diagnosis by several years.
I give “Dallas Buyers Club” 3 sweet potatoes out of four. This has been your resident moviegoer and I will see you after the movies at moviegoersview.com.
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