A poignant drama that raises awareness

Rating: 8/10 (16 June 2015)

These days, dramas, in my opinion, tend to all look alike. Insipid, overly wordy, bleak aesthetic. Well, Dallas buyers club is different in so many ways.
Historically relevant, this biopic portrays the life of Ron Woodroof (McConaughey), a Texan electrician living a life of debauchery until he finds out he is HIV-positive. This unexpected event leads him to do whatever he needs to stay alive, and therefore, setting up the fore-mentioned 'Dallas buyers club' to get around FDA regulations in order to get access to efficient treatment for many suffering patients.
The movie itself contains dark humor and can be surprisingly amusing, especially when it comes to the relation Woodroof has with his transgender friend (Leto). This movie is a humanity lesson that's brilliantly taught by director Jean-Marc Vallée.
I really enjoyed the overall aesthetic of the movie. This was one of the thing that hit me first. For a low-budget film, the director managed to make it look amazing. Editing, props, make-up are all perfect.
The performance of the actors is amazing, at least when you're talking about McConaughey and Leto. They both bring a lot of humanity to this movie and both have been through major physical appearance changes. They utterly deserved their Oscars nomination. The other performances, despite being intrinsically solid, may seem a little weak compared to the main character's.
Dallas buyers club could have been one of those average, cliché movies, but it is a masterpiece. I strongly recommend it to everyone.