Dallas Buyers Club, directed by Jean-Marc Vallée, is an absolutely sensational film that displays the brave and highly emotional story of Ron Woodroff, played by Matthew McConaughey, after he was diagnosed with AIDS in 1986. Although not entirely accurate, this film is highly biographic and portrays the struggles and bravery of AIDS victims in a classy yet very raw and very real way.
The film tells the story of Ron Woodroff, a man who indulges in a highly promiscuous lifestyle in Dallas, Texas. From the very beginning of the film, it is evident that he is very sick but it is not until Ron is sent to hospital that we see what his illness actually is.
The doctors tell him that they have run some blood work on him and that he has tested HIV positive and as a result he has just 30 days left to live. Ron reacts very badly by shouting homophobic slurs and being in complete denial about his illness. This was not uncommon at the time, as there were such stigmas surrounding HIV and AIDS that people would simply avoid contact with anyone who had contracted this so called “gay disease.” However, Ron then remembers having unprotected sex with a drug abusing prostitute a few years prior and he realises that his doctors have diagnosed him correctly.
We then see the horrors that homosexual people faced at this time firsthand when we see that Ron has been cut off completely from his friends, fired from his job and even evicted from his home. This film portrays the struggles that, not just people who were diagnosed with AIDS, but also homosexual people in general faced in such an effective, sensitive way and this is one of the reasons that this film is so excellent.
We then see Ron at the hospital where Dr Eve Saks, played by Jennifer Garner, tells him about a clinical trial for a new AIDS drug called AZT but tells him that it likely won’t be available for at least a year after they have finished testing it. We are then introduced to Jared Leto’s character Rayon, although a completely fictional character, she is hugely loveable and her story is so heart wrenching and emotive that her presence really adds to the film. Rayon plays cards with Ron and ignores his homophobic insults and this is when we see the beginning of a truly pure friendship.
Ron, desperate for anything that will help to prevent him from dying, bribes a hospital worker to give him AZT. However, the AZT worsens his condition and actually almost kills him. On the brink of death, he drives to a makeshift hospital in Mexico where he is told that AZT essentially kills every last healthy cell that a person living with AIDS has. Ron’s conditions improve after he is given a mix of drugs by one of the doctors working at this hospital and this is when he gets the idea to form his Dallas Buyers Club.
Ron, after seeing the benefits of the drugs that he has been given, decides to buy some and over the course of the next year, begins to sell them to every person that is suffering with AIDS and that is willing to pay that he can find. It is then that he comes into contact with Rayon again and agrees to become business partners with her as he knows that she will be able to bring him more customers. This is when their buyers club becomes fully established and we see their business flourishing as they have people queued right outside their room waiting for the drugs.
However, the two main antagonists, Richard Barkley, played by Michael O’Neill, and Dr Sevard, played by Denis O’Hare, catch wind of Rayon and Ron’s work and proceed to seize their drugs and fine Ron. Here, we see one of the most emotional moments in the film where Rayon goes to her transphobic father and begs him for money so that she and Ron can continue to help people. Their interaction is very affecting and the way in which Rayon’s father talks to her is truly shocking.
Ron then travels to Mexico to acquire more drugs and upon returning he learns that Rayon has died from AIDS. Ron is truly affected by this news and in this moment we see that he truly has changed into a more humane understanding individual. He begins to give out treatment more willingly to AIDS patients even though it costs him money personally and we see a real humility within him that has not been there previously.
In the end, Ron files a lawsuit against the FDA as he wants to continue to take Peptide T, one of the drugs that has helped him to survive. In the end, the judge does not have the power to do anything but it is revealed in the end that Ron was allowed by the FDA to take Peptide T for the last few years of his life. He later died from AIDS in 1992, an incredible 7 years longer than the doctors projected.
This film is truly one to be celebrated. In my opinion, it shows the struggles with AIDS and the misunderstandings and stigmas that surrounded it in such an incredible way and it handles such difficult topics in an incredibly sensitive, fresh way. Matthew McConaughey’s portrayal of the hero Ron Woodroff is sensational and I think that he really does adds to the film with his sensational acting; the other most notable performance is from Jared Leto in his portrayal of Rayon. In his acting, we see the struggles that many transgender people face not just from others but also internally; as we see Rayon struggles deeply with a cocaine addiction and with an evident hatred for her prior self. One of the most emotional scenes, is where we see her putting her makeup on again after speaking with her father, and she says that when she dies and sees God, she wants him to see her in her most beautiful form. In this moment, we see a true acceptance for herself which is an incredibly beautiful thing to witness. These two actors depict this incredible story in such an amazing way and make this film as brilliant as it is.
There really aren’t any negatives to this film, apart from perhaps that a large percentage of it is fictional. That being said, there are many news articles that you can read if you want to learn the whole, true story about Ron, and I believe that the fictional elements actually add to the film and make it even better than it would have been without them. This film is truly one to watch and, as it is a personal favourite of me, one that I really, really recommend that you watch!
Film Analyser 