Dallas Buyers Club

Excellent movie that is boosted by the fearless performances of Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto, both of whom are simply fantastic. Unlike some modern "method" acting that becomes indulgently self-conscious (e.g., Jake Gyllenhaal in NightCrawlers), both McConaughey and Leto remain focused on the objects in their worlds (even when they are inner objects) and not on what great actors they are, if that makes sense. Griffin Dunne's small but significant turn as Dr. Vass is a masterpiece - he creates a full, three-dimensional character in very few lines. The film makes a couple of compromises - I think Jennifer Garner's role is woefully underwritten, and so we really don't gain insight into her character, which seems more plot device than flesh-and-blood entity. As a result, the actress has little to work with, and some of her scenes seem contrived. I also think that, when the movie shifts gears and shows, in a sort of extended montage, McConaughey's progression into a globe-trotting, international, high-stakes wheeler-dealer rubbing shoulders with major players in the Big Pharma game, you are left with a bit of whiplash. How did he get from point "A" to Point "Z" in the blink of an eye? The movie covers its tracks pretty deftly, but those leaps in just a few minutes remain a bit jolting and are a major departure from the pace at which the story unfolds in the first hour. Additionally, there's a large dollop of the 1970s corporate America-as-the-most-malevolent-force-in-the-universe trope in the film, but at least it's tempered with an equal acknowledgment of government bureaucracy's inherent indifferent incompetence as well. But these quibbles are pretty minor. This is ultimately a movie about redemption, about our shared humanity, about how a person can grow and yet retain much of the individuality that makes him who he is. It may be a bit obviously theatrically structured, like the "well-made plays" of the 19th century, but the power of this movie - aside from the fact that it's based on a fascinating real-life story - is in McConaughey's terrific performance as Ron Woodroof and the improbable relationship he forms with Jared Leto's equally wonderfully-rendered Rayon.

This is a a very hard knock on bone and spear in soul creation for those of us who grew up during the AIDS epidemic in the 80's. I remember precisely where I was when Reagan first mentioned it and called it the "gay mens disease" blaming it's spread on bathhouses in NY. Even at 14 I knew it went much deeper than that. It managed to scare most of us cerebral types just enough to keep ourselves intact. Anyway I knew it couldn't be as simple as what they were tying to saturate the airwaves with. I watched media for the first few years, aching for the skeletal men who just wanted love like every one else. And then I watched my friends begin their journey with HIV. Straight, bi, gay, it didn't matter. The scramble for a new drug had the pharma companies in a frenzy as they saw the potential for $$$$$$ in a "cure" or as close as they could claim to get. But back to this movie in which both Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto literally transform not just their bodies but their very souls into the characters they potray giving them free reign to BE. The hardcore scientist in me always wondered at which level the brain activity is most prominent during such a total immersion in a character, but my soul understands just how much they are giving us, how deep they are opening up to us, like glasses of water from a river. The story is tragic, powerful, gentle and driven. It's a very sharp look at the control the FDA has over our very bodies by choosing for us what is "good" and what is "not good". In simple terms, which product will garner them the most profit. Sad but true. It has happened many times over many decades only to be a gut punch down the road when symptoms begin to alter lives, rarely for the better, from whatever drug they were prescribed. The humanE element, as I mentioned is, hands down impeccably worn like a second skin by the main actors, though all give outstanding performances. I don't know what turned me toward this movie, correction, I didn't know, but , as someone who has been diagnosed with necrotizing chronic pancretitis and after 7 years being put on in home hospice at 68lbs., I shifted my thinking, weaned myself off all the drugs they were handing out to me like candy, went back to my vegan diet, started walking my pup again and gained 12 lbs in 6 months. Since then I use only natural medicinals in their purest forms for my conditions. This movie is pure, and essential, for people to think before they leap down the rabbit hole of that first FDA approved pill that promises magic in BIG letters and prints the side effects so small and man couldn't read it. A not to miss movie!

Absolutely love this movie. One of my comfort watches.

I lost a cousin to AIDS who could have greatly benefited from the supplement regime in this movie. Sadly, his father worked for what should have been the best of all places, a major pharmaceutical company. He believed in the flawed system shown in this film. Watch this for the great acting and the great information. Our access to a variety of supplements and natural products like raw milk and cheese from local farmers is being taken away from us by an FDA/USDA run for the purposes of major drug, agricultural and biotech companies. This film shows one of the many tragic results. When it comes to food and drugs, I believe in informed consent, not bans and fines. Seeing this film will teach you a lot about the dangers of letting drug companies supersede human rights. If you want more info on the plot, there are many reviews here that give you that. I think it is such a wonderful educational opportunity that I want to comment mostly on the FDA aspect. Please note that this review will likely receive negative comments touting the wonders of the FDA . There are people paid to do that and I have seen them show up every time big pharma is questioned. I don't get paid to answer them and won't waste my time. I'm surprised that Big Pharma allowed this film to be made. They are THAT powerful. As coincidence would have it, I finally got around to watching it shortly after learning that it had long been known, in another country, that a substance in Soy could treat AIDS. Note that is REAL SOY, not the GMO, "Round Up Ready", stuff we have here which is rich in pesticide residue. Why were we not told about this years ago?? Who is REALLY protecting our health and well-being. Certainly NOT the FDA. As this film shows, it only protects the drug patents of major U.S. manufacturers and biotech companies and much of medicine supports it for financial gain. Only last week, the FDA had approved a pain killer so lethal that states are now moving to ban it. How protective of human life is that?? If you don't already know, the FDA with its Corporate Dons, like former policy maker for Monsanto Micheal Taylor, (over food) and Virginia Weldon (former Monsanto VP for public policy) now on the FDA Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee have been running a virtual war on supplements for decades. The reason is simple. Many of them work really well and most are from natural products which have to be synthesized to be patented. If they haven't figured out how to defy nature (the process of synthesizing often has side effects not present in the original) they don't want to see a natural drug that works on the market. It is also easy to dissuade people from using them because most natural remedies work over time and don't have the immediate punch the pharmaceutical companies like to advertise. But your body doesn't like to be "punched". The movie illustrates that very well as the effects of AZT devastate patients in the early trials...This while the medical industry, which benefits financially from participation in these studies...gladly touted their worth...least they not be asked to do another. Symptomatic treatments that do nothing to enhance the body's immune system or replace vital nutrients do not create health. They create drug dependence. In a truly free society, informed consent would be the norm. Now go watch the film and tell your friends to watch it too.

Wow, really thought provoking. All the actors were so good. An amazing story of the transformation of a person who finds out they have HIV and only 30 days to live. I think the obvious discussion on this movie is what it says about our health care system, the FDA, our government. Before I get to that, I just want to comment on that transformation. Matthew played this role so well, he was truly amazing. I loved how much his character changed throughout the movie. Before you say well yeah he was given 30 days to live, of course he changed.. I think we all know people who get a sentence like that and either give up or ignore it. Really inspiring character, loved the transformation. Then there is the FDA in this movie. Wow. I don't think of myself as someone who believes every conspiracy theory about the government, but the story told in this movie is one I have always struggled with. I DO believe that some pharmaceutical company out there has the cure for cancer, or AIDS, or something sitting on their shelf. Too much money is made on these diseases. Big pharm and the health care system make too much money on cancer, AIDS, and countless other "incurables". If I was told I had an incurable disease with X amount of time left. You bet I would be on every experimental treatment I could find. The scene when he was in the grocery store talking about living clean and not wanting anything with preservatives in it... I don't trust the FDA. I don't trust the crap that passes for "food" that is sold so cheaply in every store in the US. Clean, natural food is expensive and harder to find. It makes me sick. This movie was well acted, thought provoking, not great entertainment. I think of would of actually rather read about this in a book with a lot more detail, than seeing it as a movie. As entertainment is was slow. But I really liked the story, I was fascinated to see what happened. I think everyone should see this and question what happened.

I had heard about this movie before, but when I saw the clips of it at the Oscars and how Matthew McConaughey won best actor, I had to see this. After viewing it, I can totally understand why he won the most prestigious award for acting. What makes this movie so much more ground breaking and shocking is that it is based on true events and the real Ron Woodard, who took his life in his own hands, said doctors don't know everything, and self medicated.... proving that sometimes, even doctors aren't always right. They said he had 30 days to live and Ron lived 7 years after being diagnosed with HIV. What was really heartbreaking is his initial diagnosis. He goes through denial. Of course, back in 1985 they didn't know much about the virus. The assumption was that only intravenous drug users and homosexuals were the at risk population. When Ron is doing his own research, he stumbles across a sentence that mentions those who have unprotected sex are at risk as well. That's when it hits him - the doctors didn't mix up his blood with someone else's (as he first claims).... he remembers all of the risky sex he's had and he knows that he truly does have the HIV virus. Jared Leto plays a cross dresser, and he won best supporting actor at the Oscars, a well deserved win for him as well. At first, McConaughey's character is homophobic, but once him and Leto team up to start the buyers club, he realizes that gay people are humans too. I don't want to give too much away for those who haven't seen the movie yet. The emotion is raw, the acting is incredible, and the story as a whole will really make you think about our war on HIV and AIDS. For a man to have the courage to step up and realize that the subjects of an AZT test trial are just getting sicker, and for him to go out and take matters into his own hands is really inspiring. It also goes to show that for the most part, the FDA might be a good idea, but it still is a flawed system in some aspects. If you're up for an emotional, true story with great acting and a wonderful script, get this movie. You will not be disappointed.

The movie was very well done.

This movies showss a point of view of the Early AIDS epidemic we don't often see. People who were not just tragic victims of the disease, but who actually fought for their lives. They fought an indifferent government, a medical system slow to change, an often corrupt system and the vitriol of a fearful public. Matthew McConaughey transforms himself not only physically, but emotionally to play an unlikely hero of the epidemic. Ron Woodruff is an electrician, sometimes rodeo cowboy, and ladies man who is nothing if not vehemently anti-gay in his viewpoint. In an accident at work,it his discovered that he is HIV positive, an absolute death sentence in those early days, he is given only thirty days to live. He soon goes about getting and taking the new drug AZT illegally when he can't get into a clinical trial. The drug along with his rampant alchohol and drug use, almost poison him to death and he eventually goes in search of promising new drugs only available in Mexico. He soon starts selling these drugs to other patients in need but the FDA and corrupt drug companies battle him seemingly every step of the way. In the hospital Ron meets Rayon a street smart transvestite who is played brilliantly by Jared a It's Leto who I think, I think, steals the show. It is partly through Rayon that Ron reluctantly grows more tolerant of the gay community he now serves. They become extremely close by the films end. Another standout is Jennifer Gardner who plays a doctor conducting the AZT trials. She comes to believe, as Ron does, that the massive doses of AZT are actually poisonous but that is going against the medical community's beliefs and eventually her principles cost her her job. This film is based on a compelling real-life story and others like it and it is stellar performances by the actors that really bring it to life.