The Facts:

Synopsis: Loosely based on the true-life tale of Ron Woodroof, a drug taking, women loving, homophobic man who, in 1985 was diagnosed with full blown HIV/AIDS and given thirty days to live.

Synopsis: Loosely based on the true-life tale of Ron Woodroof, a drug taking, women loving, homophobic man who, in 1985 was diagnosed with full blown HIV/AIDS and given thirty days to live.

Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Jared Leto, Denis O’Hare, Griffin Dunne, Steve Zahn

Director: Jean-Marc Vallee

Rated: R

Running Length: 117 minutes

Trailer Review: Here

TMMM Score: (8/10)

Review: I remember when A Time to Kill came out in 1996 and the then relatively unknown leading man Matthew McConaughey was heralded as an actor to watch.  For a time, that proved to be true as the actor had his pick of Hollywood directors and high profile film projects to choose from.  Then, as is often the case with success, the actor with so much promise began to make some bad choices and it looked like McConaughey was destined to be yet another forgotten star that hit big and faded out with an endless stream of forgettable romantic comedies.

Then a minor miracle happened.  McConaughey seemed to realize what was happening and instead of just taking the checks and sloughing off the sideways glances of those that knew his potential, he stepped back and took stock of what kind of actor he’d become.  And he decided to change things up…which led to McConaughey hitting on a string of films over the last several years (like Bernie, Magic Mike, The Paperboy, Killer Joe, Mud) that showed the actor to be dexterous, intriguing, and willing to put his career on the line for projects he believed in.

Never more is that evident than in his career-high performance in Dallas Buyers Club.  As the rough Ron Woodroof, McConaughey doesn’t just physically transform into the man diagnosed with HIV that takes his life into his own hands, he goes deeper than he has before to produce a character that makes no apologies and still earns the affection of the audience…no small feat for playing a man that starts out so smarmy you can practically smell the cigarettes and cheap alcohol emanating from him.

After Woodroof was diagnosed with HIV in 1985, his doctors (Denis O’Hare and Jennifer Garner) aren’t able to offer much hope for a disease at a time before the government admitted it was a problem and funded research to learn more about it.  Frustrated, confused, and unwilling to admit his time is running short, Woodruff loses his good ‘ole boy friends who only thought of AIDS as a gay disease.  Woodruff’s homophobia runs rampant and keeps him from attending any support meetings to help learn more about the disease that is ravaging his body.

Doing his homework, Woodruff learns more about available medical treatments and how the popular drug AZT may not be the life saving solution everyone thinks it is.  A chance meeting with a doctor (Griffin Dunne) in Mexico gives him the idea of how to combat this disease, buying him more time off of his death sentence.  In short time, he grudgingly partners with Rayon (Jared Leto), a transvestite also dying of AIDS who possesses the street smarts and compassion that Woodruff is lacking.  Together they form the Dallas Buyers Club, a “club” that disperses non FDA approved drugs to the HIV community that may not otherwise have access to them.

For a movie with such a somber subject, there’s great life to be had in Dallas Buyers Club.  Aside from McConaughey’s committed performance, there’s the equally impressive transformation that Leto undergoes.  Maybe even more so than McConaughey, Leto truly gets under the skin of his character…resulting in a mighty powerful and vividly drawn character.  There’s good work from Dunne and supporting players O’Hare and Steve Zahn, all seasoned character actors that know how to stay out of the way of the leading actors.  It’s only Jennifer Garner that hits a few wrong notes…I’ve always considered Garner more of a television actress that occasionally pops up in movies and her work here only confirms that.  While her effort is better than other projects, she has a way of taking a serious scene and being a tad too invested in it, which sniffs of an earnestness that doesn’t ring true.

It’s McConaughey and Leto that you should be focusing on anyway and director Jean Marc-Vallee wisely keeps them front and center for the majority of the film.  Though as audience members we can do the math and probably know how the ending will play out, there’s more than enough surprising turns in the script from Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack to fill out the two hour running length.  I like that the movie didn’t allow the characters to compromise or be compromised and let them act and react as people would in real life – it’s not a movie where everyone holds hands and realizes the errors of their ways by the final reel.  There’s no Hollywood ending to be had but a real-life ending that provides a strong impact and lasting message.