A good film with a great performance

Rating: 8/10 (27 February 2014)

Ron Woodroof, hard drinker, recreational drug user, partaker of casual sex, and all round hard-livin' man's man, is diagnosed with HIV and given 30 days to live. After initially railing against the situation, he knuckles down to research, discovers that the US medical establishment is so restrictive that helpful medications are not available. Time is pressing, so he sources supplies from Mexico and, from there, it is a small step to sourcing supplies for others. The medical establishment is not happy...
Based on a true story (though with one or two significant fictitious amendments), this film is always fascinating. It has two sides and, although you are always in Ron's camp (notwithstanding that he does not appear to be a nice person in any accepted sense), there is justification in the argument that, without proper scientific trials, you don't know whether a particular treatment is truly effective. This, of course, is no consolation if it is being withheld despite the fact that it is the only possibility of staving off certain imminent death).
Jared Leto as flamboyantly transsexual Rayon is terrific, and the developing relationship between him and the homophobic Ron is enormously moving, and forms the heart of the film. But the film overall belongs to Matthew McConnaughey. His commitment shows in the physical transformation he took upon himself - looking gaunt throughout, his wasted skeletal presence in the final courtroom scenes is heartbreaking - but his performance throughout is a big part of making this film as powerful as it is.