Dallas Buyers Club isn't a grand overview of the prejudice and hysteria of the early years of the AIDS epidemic. It isn't really a story of some great triumph either. It is a small story, about one man, Ron Woodroof, trying to survive. He does it, basically on his own, in the face of massive attempts by the government agencies that should be helping him.
It is a little more complicated than that too. The complications are sort of under the surface in the film. The "bad" doctors were sort of right, AZT worked in lower doses. The protagonist, at the very least, starts out aiming to not only stay alive but turn a profit. He isn't a saint. Yet he is played by Matthew McConaughey as so likeable that it is impossible to resist him. You like him even as you realize what he is.
But the character changes as the film progresses too. The brunt of prejudice maybe he, somehow, comes to understand the other characters pain.
The one other character in the film who really matters is Jarod Leto's Rayon. He delivers a performance that should get serious consideration for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar. He HAS to be nominated. He plays the role mostly in drag, partly with great humor but also with a pain that is almost palpable--that seems real.
Rayon isn't someone it would be wise to give your apartment keys to. He isn't someone you want to lend money or have talk to third graders about "just saying no" but he is a character that demonstrates how even people at the bottom of society love, are loved and are worthy of love. It is a remarkable and moving performance.
It is a little more complicated than that too. The complications are sort of under the surface in the film. The "bad" doctors were sort of right, AZT worked in lower doses. The protagonist, at the very least, starts out aiming to not only stay alive but turn a profit. He isn't a saint. Yet he is played by Matthew McConaughey as so likeable that it is impossible to resist him. You like him even as you realize what he is.
But the character changes as the film progresses too. The brunt of prejudice maybe he, somehow, comes to understand the other characters pain.
The one other character in the film who really matters is Jarod Leto's Rayon. He delivers a performance that should get serious consideration for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar. He HAS to be nominated. He plays the role mostly in drag, partly with great humor but also with a pain that is almost palpable--that seems real.
Rayon isn't someone it would be wise to give your apartment keys to. He isn't someone you want to lend money or have talk to third graders about "just saying no" but he is a character that demonstrates how even people at the bottom of society love, are loved and are worthy of love. It is a remarkable and moving performance.
The other actors in the film do the best they can with their less flamboyant roles. Jennifer Garner is fine in the role of Dr. Eve Saks but just seems sort of dull next to McConaughey's Woodroof. If she didn't seem that way it would be a silly film and it is not. One interesting note is that the small roles where an actor is only on screen for a few minutes are all quite well done. It is tough to be memorable in a few minutes but many here do that--Denis O'Hare, Kevin Rankin and Steve Zahn specifically. Rankin must long for the day when he gets to play a character that isn't a racist redneck. But he does it so, so well!
The movie is moving and full of great performances. It also serves another purpose. Those who recall the early days of AIDS remember the hysteria well. It wasn't "just another disease." it as God's wrath and the "gay plague" come to kill us all. This movie brings you back to that time and is something of a cautionary tale.
It also, oddly, since the intent is likely the opposite, leaves you with a feeling that ultimately the system works. It just lacks compassion for individuals. That isn't the job of "the system" it is the job of actual humans.
The movie is moving and full of great performances. It also serves another purpose. Those who recall the early days of AIDS remember the hysteria well. It wasn't "just another disease." it as God's wrath and the "gay plague" come to kill us all. This movie brings you back to that time and is something of a cautionary tale.
It also, oddly, since the intent is likely the opposite, leaves you with a feeling that ultimately the system works. It just lacks compassion for individuals. That isn't the job of "the system" it is the job of actual humans.
RSS Feed