Amid an Oscar season already full of memorable performances, Matthew McConaughey's role in "Dallas Buyers Club" is definitely attracting its fair share of attention. While some of the chatter may be about the nearly 50 pounds he lost for the film, much of the buzz is focused on how this film is just the latest step in the actor's path toward playing more "serious" characters - a switch that began in 2011 with his portrayal of quick-talking defense attorney Mick Haller in "The Lincoln Lawyer."
Perhaps best known for starring in numerous romantic comedies, McConaughey has decidedly moved away from the overall lightweight fare that launched his career. His recent transformation has been a welcome surprise. Although the rest of "Dallas Buyers Club" may not possess the same level of subtlety, McConaughey's gripping and nuanced performance lives up to the hype and is one of the year's best.
"Dallas Buyers Club" tells the story of Ron Woodroof (McConaughey), an electrician living in Dallas in the mid-80s whose life is chock full of sex, drugs, alcohol and a strong dose of arrogance. Depicted as the epitome of masculinity, Woodroof quickly finds that his days of hard partying have caught up with him when he learns he is HIV-positive and has just 30 days to live. After seeing unsuccessful results from the only legally-approved AIDS drug in the United States, ATZ, Woodroof travels across the border to Mexico and meets a doctor who suggests an alternative combination of drugs to stabilize his immune system. Realizing that these are more effective than anti-AIDS drugs in America, Woodroof recognizes a business opportunity. He begins to smuggle the drugs across the border to sell back home and subsequently creates a buyers club for HIV-positive patients in Dallas.
Through Woodroof's exploits, the film tries to connect his story to the larger picture of the AIDS epidemic of the '80s - although it only somewhat succeeds in this endeavor. Woodroof is portrayed as boldly fighting against both government bureaucracy (represented by a rather heartless FDA agent) and the pharmaceutical industry. The film wisely avoids painting him as a full-fledged martyr, instead depicting him as a man capitalizing on a business opportunity, who is simultaneously angered by the injustice he experiences. "Dallas Buyers Club" also frames the pharmaceutical industry as an entity that only cares about the bottom line at the expense of patient care - destined to conflict with Woodroof's agenda. While that probably isn't far off from the truth, one can't help but get the sense that this was done partially to fit everything into a more conventional narrative structure.
This minor issue is fortunately overshadowed by what the film (rightly) focuses on: McConaughey's complex and outstanding performance as Woodroof. At the beginning of the film Woodroof is an outright homophobic bigot, refusing to believe that he could possibly have HIV until his research on the disease confirms his fears. Set during the infancy of the AIDS epidemic, the film uses Woodroof's intolerant friends and their harsh reaction to his AIDS diagnosis to effectively capture the political and social atmosphere of the time. These men - who use derogatory slurs against Woodroof - articulate the views of a poorly educated public that believed AIDS was a disease only passed through homosexual sex.
The diagnosis turns Woodroof's world upside down, and McConaughey's energy drives home the shock and desperation of a man seemingly out of options. Over the course of the movie, Woodroof ultimately transitions into an empathetic character, as he leaves behind his prejudices and comes to accept a community he once ridiculed.
This transformation is best represented by Woodroof's relationship with Rayon (Jared Leto), a transgender woman and fellow patient who helps him bring the buyers club to the larger HIV community. Leto underwent a startling physical transformation for the film and brings a liveliness to the role that makes Rayon an excellent counterpart to Woodroof. Their unlikely partnership slowly develops into friendship, mirroring a change within Woodroof himself.
With its cursory exploration of the complexities present in the fight against AIDS in the '80s and a slightly simplified narrative, "Dallas Buyers Club" is not a perfect movie. But the two Oscar-worthy performances by McConaughey and Leto and the story of Ron Woodroof's redemption make "Dallas Buyers Club" a compelling film - and surely a contender for a few Academy Awards come March.
