Great performances not just about the weight loss

Rating: 8/10 (17 May 2014)

It's 1985 Dallas. Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey) is a hard-partying womanizing drug-user bull-rider. Rock Hudson has just come out with AIDS. When doctors gave him the diagnosis and 30 days to live, the homophobic Ron rejects it at first. Eventually he bribes a janitor to steal AZT. When the drug becomes impossible to steal, he goes to Mexico to see unlicensed Dr. Vass (Griffin Dunne). He tells him that AZT is poison and starts putting a drug cocktail to treat his symptoms. With the help of transvestite Rayon (Jared Leto), he brings in drugs from outside the US and forms the Dallas Buyers Club. People pay a standard fee to receive all the drug treatments. The hospital and the DEA is bent on shutting him down in favor of the AZT trial. Dr. Eve Saks (Jennifer Garner) is sympathetic but feels powerless to help.
The performances are amazing. Sure the weight loss is shocking, but they're doing more than skinny acting. Matthew is laying it all out in a complex performance. He is cocky and combative but also extremely vulnerable. Both Jared Leto and Jennifer Garner are superb support. The hero is not quite the saint as in 'Philadelphia', but that's part of its strength. This is a great performance.