A fascinating story punctuated with potentially the two best performances of the year

Rating: 9/10 (17 December 2013)

Dallas Buyers Club is a fascinating, really well made film. It deserves the solid 9 I am giving it. It was entertaining, educational, based on a true story and the characters are just really captivating. Unlike most films there aren't really any "heroes" in the movie, these characters are very real and very much victims of circumstance in many ways. The film is a critics dream but they wouldn't be wrong this time because this is a powerful story and the film also gives us not one but two of the best performances of the year and two of the best I have ever seen but we will get to that. I do find it interesting that many of the write ups and implications of our main character Ron Woodroof is that he helped AIDS patients get medication they need. That is true to an extent but he was also (if the movie shows the truth) self-serving. He wouldn't let anyone take the drugs without being paid first. Still he became a hero by circumstance and he makes for one incredibly fascinating larger than life character to watch. I don't necessarily think the film is any great amazing feat of movie making but it is a powerful story and the director owes all the success to an incredible cast.
Matthew McConaughey has had a diverse career between mainstream and critics choice type films. He has proved himself again and again in things like A Time To Kill and even this year's Mud. However, this is almost certainly his best performance. Even ignoring the fact that he emaciated himself to look the part, he is mesmerizing as the awful, bigoted and dying Ron Woodroof. He actually manages to make a man who is sort of horrible likable or at least you relate to him. In my opinion out of all the great roles this year, he deserves the Best Actor Oscar period. That's not even to say he's the best performance of the year, nor is he the best in this film. The best performance I have personally seen all year is by the incredible Jared Leto who unequivocally gives the performance of his lifetime. He is unbelievable as a pre-op transsexual. But that isn't even the beginning of the depth of his character Rayon. He's a drug addict, he's been outcast from his family, he is struggling to survive and to find a place in the world. Leto is a huge ten in his performance. He would be supporting actor and if he doesn't get that Oscar...its a complete travesty. The relationship between Woodroof and Rayon is incredible and from the moment they meet, the bond they forge is bizarre and yet so charismatic and heart breaking. Poor Jennifer Garner who is decent in the film is buried in the shadow of these two men in their role. Garner is decent but certainly doesn't stand out. Denis O'Hare, Steve Zahn, Kevin Rankin and Michael O'Neill were also particularly good in their supporting roles of various sizes.
This is the only film I have seen from Jean-Marc Vallee and I don't mind to imply he isn't a good director. I just think the actual film making aspect of the movie was good but not amazing. This film is amazing because of the two lead performances that are beyond stunning. They make a 7.5 or maybe an 8 movie into an easy 9. Obviously the film's content is a little heavy and set appropriately in the mid-80's but the time frame doesn't hit you in an obvious way. It simply is when it is and the 80's era doesn't overshadow the point of the film but yet is vital in understanding the fear of the AIDS virus, homosexuality and the life of someone like Rayon. A powerful film that must be seen and I hope gets a lot of attention at least for its stars. It might not be something I'd watch again and again but it was still one of the best movies of the year. 9/10