The true story of Ronald Woodroof, who in the 80s crusaded on behalf of AIDS patients in the US to get better treatment, is the kind of tale that Hollywood tends to ruin. Too often filmmakers succumb to the temptation of rounding out the edges of the narrative in order to make it all more palatable. But Dallas Buyers Club somehow manages to resist that urge, and instead creates a beautiful portrait of a deeply flawed human being possessed of purpose.
It is 1985. Racist, homophobic Texan Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey) has just been diagnosed with HIV in a time when it was mainly known in the public as a disease that only homosexuals get. He is given thirty days to live, with no course of treatment available to him. Unwilling to accept that fate, Woodroof goes on a quest to find anything that might extend his life. He soon learns that there are treatments that have proven effective against AIDS, but the FDA hasn’t approved them. Woodroof picks a fight with the FDA by starting the Dallas Buyers Club, basically a black market dedicated to getting unapproved life-saving medication to AIDS patients.
It might seem like a cliché narrative: homophobe comes to learn the error of his ways, and ends up being a defender of gay people. But that isn’t exactly what happens. The film is remarkable in that it doesn’t sugarcoat the motivations of the character. This is not a story of transformation. Ron Woodroof begins as a rather awful person, and he ends with the same bile in his belly. The only real difference is that by the end, he’s been imbued with purpose. The film is a real testament to what can be accomplished when an asshole is given a just cause to fight for.
And this narrative is told with exacting technique. There is little room in here for sentimentality. This is a lean film that always cuts to the chase, moving the story at a surprisingly brisk pace. The film skims through the details of Woodroof’s schemes, leaving more time for the terrific interpersonal drama that gives the film its emotional anchor. Not all parts of this approach work; the bits that involve a sympathetic doctor tend to lean towards the obvious. But as a whole, the movie does a great job of finding room for these compelling moments of internal struggle.
Much praise has already been given to the performances of Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto. The two won plenty of awards attention for their roles in this film, and it is all pretty well deserved. McConaughey is the rare actor who can pull off the delicate balancing act required for such a complicated role. The severe physical transformation is impressive enough, but what really makes the performance so memorable is its willingness to embrace the caustic nature of the character. McConaughey doesn’t soften the character by exerting his inherent charm. He instead earns sympathy by exposing the raw humanity that emerges from such brutal behavior.
Dallas Buyers Club tells a story that needed to be told. History is full of thoroughly imperfect characters that managed to do great things, but few get the attention they deserve. Or sometimes, their stories do get told, but their rougher moments are glossed over. It turns these perfectly flawed human beings into abstract figures, defined more by achievement than who they actually are. This movie triumphs because it refuses to reduce its subject to his eventual heroism. It crafts a more complete portrait of a hero, one that feels closer to the realities that we experience everyday.
My Rating:
