DALLAS BUYERS CLUB - a movie review -
My joking Tweet on this movie went like this: DALLAS BUYERS CLUB is about the sordid, grubby life of a wild rodeo rider. Then the FDA gets involved, and it gets really sleazy.
So at this point, we movie-goers already know that it's based on a true story about a hard-living Dallas electrician and rodeo rider named Ron Woodruff who contacted AIDS though he wasn't gay (in fact, he was a redneck homophobe) and went around the system to access the drugs that would help him, and others, deal with AIDS. We know that Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto won both Golden Globes and Oscars for their roles. And also the make-up and hair person won an Oscar for her work! THIS IN A YEAR WITH A HOBBIT MOVIE, go figure! (But she had to make it look like 1985-1992 and only had a $300 budget to do it.)
Both actors really committed to their roles, each losing 30 lbs or more to appear AIDS-stricken. Leto also waxed off his eyebrows and his pubes for his role as Rayon, a transvestite. Leto caught flack from some LGBT groups for his queening and heavy-handed flirting. It seems they didn't like such a broadly played imitation, especially for a character that's at the end of her life. But I feel like some of the objections were misguided. Rayon, to me, didn't seem defined by her choice to dress and present like a woman. It was subtle, moreso because Rayon herself never had a moment where she broke down and regretted it, but transitioning from MtF wasn't Rayon's big flaw, good for the script. Her flaw was that she was a drug abuser and it's a big part of what hastened her death and made her doctor friend and Ron get frustrated with her. There was a terribly poignant scene where Rayon puts on a man's suit way too huge for her, takes off her wig and makeup, and goes to ask her dad for money. Money for an honorable reason, which made it even more effective. Jared was really good too. BTW, there was not a Rayon per se in Ron's story; she was a composite of characters.
A gaunt, red-eyed McConaughey who still acts like he's God's juicy gift to women is an odd thing. He's somewhat repellant, yet still a smarmy jackass. That is Ron's defining tone all the way through. At some points he's angry (still smarmy). Or frantically searching (still smarmy). Or passed out from illness (wakes up smarmy). To give the character of Ron a better arc, his life at the beginning is full of booze, drugs, group sex, filthy trailer, conniving ways... It's really squalid and unpleasant to watch. (And the screenwriter admitted that this earlier part of his life was portrayed more extreme than Woodruff actually was.) The biggest achievement of the movie is that it makes that guy somewhat sympathetic. But his arc is closely tied to the way he makes money, so it's difficult to see how altruistic Ron at the end is really that changed. So much of his AIDS treatment "club" and working to get access to new treatments and drugs is driven by his anger at the FDA. But he did have a big effect IRL on how AIDS-treatment drugs were moved quicker through the testing process.
Only see if you think you must; it's not a pleasant experience. I don't think I would've seen this movie if it hadn't been recognized with so many nominations. That's an honorable thing, to find these micro-budget indie movies on important topics and recognize them this way. If you want 90 minutes of a meaningful movie on a topic that breaks your heart, this will continue to be an important touchstone in movie making for years.
So at this point, we movie-goers already know that it's based on a true story about a hard-living Dallas electrician and rodeo rider named Ron Woodruff who contacted AIDS though he wasn't gay (in fact, he was a redneck homophobe) and went around the system to access the drugs that would help him, and others, deal with AIDS. We know that Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto won both Golden Globes and Oscars for their roles. And also the make-up and hair person won an Oscar for her work! THIS IN A YEAR WITH A HOBBIT MOVIE, go figure! (But she had to make it look like 1985-1992 and only had a $300 budget to do it.)
Both actors really committed to their roles, each losing 30 lbs or more to appear AIDS-stricken. Leto also waxed off his eyebrows and his pubes for his role as Rayon, a transvestite. Leto caught flack from some LGBT groups for his queening and heavy-handed flirting. It seems they didn't like such a broadly played imitation, especially for a character that's at the end of her life. But I feel like some of the objections were misguided. Rayon, to me, didn't seem defined by her choice to dress and present like a woman. It was subtle, moreso because Rayon herself never had a moment where she broke down and regretted it, but transitioning from MtF wasn't Rayon's big flaw, good for the script. Her flaw was that she was a drug abuser and it's a big part of what hastened her death and made her doctor friend and Ron get frustrated with her. There was a terribly poignant scene where Rayon puts on a man's suit way too huge for her, takes off her wig and makeup, and goes to ask her dad for money. Money for an honorable reason, which made it even more effective. Jared was really good too. BTW, there was not a Rayon per se in Ron's story; she was a composite of characters.
A gaunt, red-eyed McConaughey who still acts like he's God's juicy gift to women is an odd thing. He's somewhat repellant, yet still a smarmy jackass. That is Ron's defining tone all the way through. At some points he's angry (still smarmy). Or frantically searching (still smarmy). Or passed out from illness (wakes up smarmy). To give the character of Ron a better arc, his life at the beginning is full of booze, drugs, group sex, filthy trailer, conniving ways... It's really squalid and unpleasant to watch. (And the screenwriter admitted that this earlier part of his life was portrayed more extreme than Woodruff actually was.) The biggest achievement of the movie is that it makes that guy somewhat sympathetic. But his arc is closely tied to the way he makes money, so it's difficult to see how altruistic Ron at the end is really that changed. So much of his AIDS treatment "club" and working to get access to new treatments and drugs is driven by his anger at the FDA. But he did have a big effect IRL on how AIDS-treatment drugs were moved quicker through the testing process.
Only see if you think you must; it's not a pleasant experience. I don't think I would've seen this movie if it hadn't been recognized with so many nominations. That's an honorable thing, to find these micro-budget indie movies on important topics and recognize them this way. If you want 90 minutes of a meaningful movie on a topic that breaks your heart, this will continue to be an important touchstone in movie making for years.