DALLAS BUYERS CLUB (Jean-Marc Vallee', 2013) ***

Rating: 7/10 (26 February 2014)

While this can be seen as typical "Oscar bait" material – dealing as it does with terminal illness and gender-bending and being a biopic on top of all that – there is no denying that it is a compelling and stylishly- handled affair (among the film's six nominations are ones for Best Picture, Original Screenplay and Editing). I had never been that much impressed with handsome Matthew McConaughey's work prior to this, given that it was mainly restricted to what passes for a romantic comedy these days; still, I am familiar with such dramatic films as the John Grisham adaptation A TIME TO KILL (1996), Steven Spielberg's AMISTAD (1997) and the Malta-shot WWII submarine flick U-571 (2000) and, for the record, I have yet to catch him in CONTACT (1997), William Friedkin's KILLER JOE (2011), MAGIC MIKE (2012) and Martin Scorsese's THE WOLF OF WALL STREET – which is itself one of this year's major Oscar contenders, so I will be getting to that one soon enough.
However, McConaughey's exceptional performance here really breathes life into a basically unsavory character – even if I doubt his shenanigans were truly as colourful as they are depicted throughout the movie! He plays a virile and hard-living rodeo cowboy who suddenly discovers he has contracted AIDS; after the initial incredulity, rather than wallowing in self-pity, he embarks on a private crusade to look into means of treating the HIV virus – especially when it transpires that the only legally prescribed drug in the U.S. was more life-threatening than health-restoring, causing him to go underground in other countries like Mexico and Japan and eventually start a booming business (which is what the title refers to) sharing his findings with other afflicted patients.
One of his closest collaborators is cross-dressing junkie Jared Leto (equally impressive), whose obvious knowledge of the gay scene – which McConaughey abhors at first but then learns to tolerate – is essential in procuring him eligible 'clients'. Both actors are deservedly at the head of their respective category in next Sunday's Oscar race (having already won the Golden Globe and SAG awards); almost just as assuredly 'in-the-bag' is the film's remaining nod for Best Make-up And Hairstyling – which unflinchingly illustrates the increasingly devastating effects of the disease (McConaughey even slimmed down considerably for the role). The supporting cast includes sympathetic doctor Jennifer Garner, Steve Zahn as the protagonist's long-suffering cop brother and a practically unrecognizable Griffin Dunne in the part of the discharged physician, relocated to Mexico, who alerts McConaughey of his alternative (and more beneficial) cure.
As I said earlier, the hero's brushes with the customs and medical authorities – entertaining though they may be, with the protagonist often disguising himself as a sickly priest – seem a bit far-fetched under the circumstances; ditto the unlikely presence of "rodeo groupies" servicing competing riders before entering the arena! Actually, the most shocking aspect of all this is that while McConaughey cleans up his act when hit by the disease – jettisoning booze, drugs and processed food – he finds it hard to curb his hedonism and still engages in watching porn, frequenting strippers and even make love to an attractive full- blown AIDS victimand Leto himself expires from a drug overdose! Incidentally, despite the clearly defined time-frame of events, the movie's production design (or, for that matter, T-Rex-dominated soundtrack) never really brings out that unmistakable feeling of being in the 1980s!