Tuesday Night is Film Night returns this week with a highly recommended movie, but will it be a thumbs up for the 6 times Academy Award nominated film? Let's find out, as we watch;
Dallas Buyers Club
The film opens with a scene at a rodeo, where vehemently heterosexual Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey) is proving that fact quite aggressively. Unfortunately, Ron is also keen on drink and drugs along with the debauched unprotected sex with the trailer trash that hang around the rodeo and as a result the opening scene concludes with Ron collapsing on the floor of his 1980's Dallas home.
As an opening scene it is intriguing, puzzling and has the promise of a good story. That story unravels fairly rapidly for Ron when he is admitted to hospital after his collapse and after some routine blood tests show up more than was anticipated, the doctors discover that he is HIV positive. Something that Ron is quite clearly shocked by and which he explicitly denies, as he isn't some lousy faggot!
However, like it or not Ron is diagnosed correctly as having AIDS and is given approximately 30 days to live, not something easily absorbed by the red-necked Ron, although as his health deteriorates it is clear that something needs to be done, so he starts to look for some drug therapy, but the hospital can only offer a randomised drug trial where there is a chance that the drugs may be placebos. Initially he manages to get drugs smuggled out of the hospital, but when that supply runs out he ends up going to Mexico to source some more drugs. Here we actually get to the crux of the story, Ron's health begins to improve when he takes the vitamins and peptides prescribed by the doctor in Mexico, who was actually a struck off American doctor, now working the other side of the border. Ron sees an opportunity to make some money selling the same drugs that has helped him, to other AIDS victims. This is where he strikes up an unusual relationship with Rayon a homosexual played superbly by Jared Leto and they form a business liaison selling drugs. This is clearly illegal, so they soon turn into a Buyers Club, where people subscribe to a club and get the drugs free, thus circumventing any legislation.
Ron also strikes up a friendship with hospital doctor Eve, played by the lovely Jennifer Garner as she is sympathetic to Ron's cause and understands how the large pharmaceutical companies are manipulating the doctors into using their drugs for clinical trials, by offering large cash incentives. So the story turns again with Ron being a HIV champion, taking on the drugs companies and the FDA (U S Food and Drug Administration) and trying to beat them at their own game.
It is a fascinating story and the film clearly had potential, but we were a little let down by what we perceived to be a lack of pulling power, we didn't feel drawn into the film. McConaughey clearly pulled out all the stops for the role, and was a very convincing character, but we got bored quite easily with the lack of gravitas that could have improved the storyline. Certainly a serious subject, but the McConaughey character didn't do it for us. Jared Leto was much better and more convincing and Jennifer Garner was a saving grace, pulling us back in with some great dialogue. McConaughey as an actor is very talented and he was definitely the right person for the role and prepared for the role by losing a massive 21kg.
All in all Dallas Buyers Club should be a film that is enjoyed and judging by the other reviews and the Oscar nominations it was clearly well received, it just didn't float our respective boats. Whether that says more about us and our choice of film or the film itself, we'll let you decide. We wanted to like it, but we weren't sold. Great story though.
TNiFN Rating 57%
IMDB Link
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