Fearlessly Combatting AIDS

DALLAS BUYERS CLUB (2013)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

I have watched sad, despairing films about the AIDS virus before, such as "Longtime Companion," the forgotten "Parting Glances" (with an early, earthshakingly-brave performance by Steve Buscemi) and the critically acclaimed, watchable yet overly sanctimonious "Philadelphia." There are many others but it is really "Dallas Buyers Club" that hits the right chord and strikes a more honest, devastating impact than most others of its ilk.

The mid-1980's around the world was hit with a major blow - AIDS had ravaged and taken the lives of many (not just homosexuals). A stigma was attached to this disease, alluding to a misrepresentation of what the disease was and who it could affect. Electrician and part-time rodeo cowboy Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey) had unprotected sex with many women and shared many intravenous needles. An accident at work lands Ron in the hospital where he is told by the doctors that he has AIDS. Woodroff can't and won't believe he has the HIV virus because he mistakenly believes that homosexuals get the virus only, not heterosexuals. When he flashes back to his sexual proclivities, he realizes he is wrong.

Unfortunately, Woodroof cannot procure the drugs necessary to combat AIDS and live longer than expected. Dr. Eve Saks (Jennifer Garner, in one of the most tender roles she has played) cares for many AIDS patients and tells Woodroof to take AZT, a drug Ron later discovers is more poisonous than helpful. When Ron makes a trip to Mexico to find alternatives, Dr. Vass (Griffin Dunne), a doctor who lost his American medical license, suggest the antiretroviral drug ddC and the protein Peptide T - both, however, are not FDA-approved. In scenes that have an air of polished wit that is never overplayed, Woodroof disguises himself as an international businessman and a priest as he travels to other countries to smuggle these sought-after medicines and proteins for his own market - the Dallas Buyers Club. Operating out of two motel rooms, Woodroof only asks for 400 dollars to join the club and get the medication needed for AIDS patients to stay healthy. Naturally, after snatching patients from Dr. Saks and her superior, Dr. Sevard (Dennis O'Hare), the FDA comes calling and confiscates the medications that were illegally smuggled into the U.S.

Directed with a galvanizing raw feeling and a near-hallucinatory charge by Jean-Marc Vallée ("The Young Victoria"), "Dallas Buyers Club" has no pretensions nor does it judge the hero of the movie, Ron Woodroof who is depicted as homophobic and straight (some actual sources who knew Ron say he was not homophobic, and that he was definitely homosexual). Regardless of the accuracy of his sexual orientation, it shows Ron developing compassion and sympathy for those afflicted with the disease because he himself is going through pure hell. Most telling is his relationship with the HIV-infected, transgender (and fictional) Rayon (Jared Leto), who is high quite often yet she develops a respect for a man who defends her. It is a business partnership and Rayon knows how to get the clients.

Woodroof never loses sight of his sexual needs, masturbating to pictures of women or having sex with a "full-blown AIDS" patient (a scene some may scoff at but, I have to admit, it is shockingly funny). McConaughey gives ample strength and pure heart of mind to Woodroof, never fearing that his character may be tough to like yet easy to admire. Woodroof can be reckless and fearless but those are qualities that hold him as something other than a saintly icon of the AIDS movement. Leto, an actor who can be as fearless as McConaughey, shows such sensitivity and beauty of mind and soul as Rayon that it becomes an extraordinarily moving performance - Leto holds you in his grasp as Rayon and you can't turn away. That is also the heart and soul of "Dallas Buyers Club" - don't turn away and never forget.