Matthew McConaguhey at his best.

Rating: 10/10 (15 April 2020)

Matthew McConaughey's performance stunned me, in a way that a beautiful painting does, where you gaze at it progressively more and recognize the depth and brilliance of it, just like that. Though I have to admit I have a soft spot for profound depictions of a character that showcases the multi-dimensional facets and leads us to experience him in a beautifully humane way. Ron (Matthew McConaughey) starts as this hyper-macho, intrepid, sexist, homophobic, hedonist that is addicted to sex, but as we get to know him better and the ravages of AIDS start to kick in, we see his beautiful evolution from a prejudiced, impatient, egotist to an acceptant, inclusive, and sacrificial person that attempts to live in an existential way. AIDS had to bully him into producing a legacy for himself, in an attempt to survive and find strength to live.
Dr. Sevard (Denis O'Hare) was a really important element in the movie as the grim reaper for all these people with AIDS. It was the symbol of corruption, greed, and complicity within the hospital that Ron had to contend with. In the initial scenes we see Eve (Jennifer Garner) criticizing the brazenness of the pharmaceutical industry for pushing a medication that is not known to be safe for the public in order to make a profit, and Dr. Sevard gives her a gentle reality check when he justifies the industry's actions by calling it "just business".
Eve is the symbol of hope of reforming the Medical services, a young, good-hearted, compassionate doctor that is resilient and unrelenting despite many obstacles, even by the sexism and impulsivity initially by Ron. She was repeatedly Ron's hope that what he was doing was actually making a difference in people's lives. Even when he was not successful at causing significant change against the pharmaceutical industry, the people with him, especially Eve was there inspiring him to do better. At the end he did leave a legacy, a legacy of hope and perseverance, that despite any pushback he was relentless in his desire to improve the lives of others.