Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto, Jennifer Garner
Director: Jean Marc Valee
Ron Woodroff, (an emaciated McConaughey) is a Dallas Rodeo cowboy who lives a life of excess. If he can drink it, snort it, smoke it, inject it or screw it, he will. Set in 1985 at the height of the AIDS epidemic, Woodroff learns that he has contracted the disease through unprotected sex with prostitutes.
A typical cowboy attitude leads him to believe that only homosexuals can get AIDS and after he collapses and is brought to hospital, the gravity of his situation starts to sink in when he is told he only has 30 days to live.
Hours of research and conversations with a doctor at the hospital (played by Jennifer Garner), lead him to Mexico where he is able to get his hands on AZT, a non FDA approved drug that helps those with the disease. He soon ends up in a partnership with a transgender woman by the name of Rayon (Jared Leto), and begin to bring the drug into the US illegally, selling memberships to the Dallas Buyers Club. As they are not allowed to sell the drug, they give it away with a hefty membership fee.
But their activity is being monitored and the FDA soon swoop in and do what they can to interrupt Ron and Rayons business dealings.
Hours of research and conversations with a doctor at the hospital (played by Jennifer Garner), lead him to Mexico where he is able to get his hands on AZT, a non FDA approved drug that helps those with the disease. He soon ends up in a partnership with a transgender woman by the name of Rayon (Jared Leto), and begin to bring the drug into the US illegally, selling memberships to the Dallas Buyers Club. As they are not allowed to sell the drug, they give it away with a hefty membership fee.
But their activity is being monitored and the FDA soon swoop in and do what they can to interrupt Ron and Rayons business dealings.
This movie was always going to cause controversy and divided opinion due to the subject matter and the fact that it's lead, Matthew McConaughey went to dramatic lengths to play the main character. McConaughey lost over 20 kilograms to play the role of real life AIDS victim Woodroff. Matthew ended up winning the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role and after watching this movie, it was well deserved.
I'm a huge Jared Leto fan, have been for quite some time. He is an amazing songwriter, musician and an underrated actor, until now. Jared plays a transgender woman called Rayon who is HIV positive and enters into a business deal with Ron to supply as many people as possible with the drugs they need to treat their disease. While Rayon was not a real person, Jared went to incredible lengths to transform himself into Rayon and the results are spectacular. His performance is moving, sassy and incredibly powerful. Jared also won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
This is not a movie for everyone and Ron Woodroff himself was certainly not a nice person by any means, but this is one of those stories that hits you hard and makes you feel for anyone who contracted the disease at a time when it was, (and still is to a certain extent) so misunderstood.
This is not a movie for everyone and Ron Woodroff himself was certainly not a nice person by any means, but this is one of those stories that hits you hard and makes you feel for anyone who contracted the disease at a time when it was, (and still is to a certain extent) so misunderstood.
