Dallas Buyers Club

It's never been a secret that I can't stand Matthew McConaughey. He's obnoxious, plays every character the same in every film, and generally speaking just makes me angry. Did anyone REALLY want to see him rip his clothes off in Magic Mike? I've never been a fan, and because of this I almost skipped this film. I just knew that, unless he absolutely wowed me, I would think poorly of Matthew McConaughey.

Well, I wasn't entirely wrong. I certainly found his performance to be the cutout performance he always gives us. Although of course the character was different, and he perhaps played McConaughey in that character, his mannerisms were all the same. I could have copied and pasted any of his actions into any of his other roles and, frankly, it probably would have worked. He rubbed me the wrong way as he always did, although it should be noted that this is probably the intent of the character initially. He was unimpressive, and frankly, does not deserve the Oscar nomination. I guess it's going to take a lot more for me to really be impressed by him, no matter how amazing the (mostly) true story is.

But that's not to say I didn't love this film. While he was as I expected him to be, I have to say that the rest of this cast was just wonderful. Jared Leto in particular, playing the AIDS infected transgender Rayon, gave a killer performance, making us laugh, and ultimately cry at her plights and struggles. He deserves that Oscar, and I'd even say that above Michael Fassbender, as amazing as he was in 12 Years A Slave. Jennifer Garner gives a performance I think might just be her best. She plays a morally confused doctor, who knows the negative effects of what she's doing but is afraid to go against her superiors and education to support McConaughy. She's instantly likable, but beautifully broken. She shines through as well.

The story itself is fascinating. McConaughy plays Ron Woodroof, a drug using rodeo enthusiast, who learns that he is HIV positive after years of drug use and unprotected sex. Homophobic to an extreme, he refuses to believe he's contracted the virus in fear of being perceived as gay. The real Woodroof was reportedly bisexual, however this is never really touched upon. While struggling to illegally obtain medication, he meets Rayon, with whom he eventually opens The Dallas Buyers Club, a club for HIV positive individuals to receive medication not approved by the FDA. The story takes it's liberties (Rayon and Dr. Eve were not real people), but it still shows an amazing story, and a great character study on everyone involved.

Dallas Buyers Club suffers from a mediocre performance from a mediocre lead actor who somehow got an Oscar nomination. But that doesn't make this film any less valid or impressive. It really is one of the best movies of the year.

Rank - 5/5