Life in the face of death: You need to see this movie and why you may hate it.

Rating: 9/10 (19 January 2015)

A brawling cowboy, Ron (McConaughey), is given 30 days to live. Ron considers himself invincible and embarks on a journey to survive, showing us what life is like in the face of death.
Ron gets fired, is ostracized from friends and eventually locked out of his trailer. He is alone. When introduced to an experimental drug, AZT, Ron risks life and limb to get his hands on it and eventually begins to sell it to fellow AIDs patients. His business begins to thrive as he befriends Dr. Saks (Garner) and a transvestite (Leto) who pry at his character and mold him into a completely new man. It is very enjoyable to watch the change.
What is so captivating about McConaughey's portrayal is that we get to see him not as the charmer we all know and love but as a cocky, gritty, weak, vulnerable, and transformed person. This is undoubtedly an Academy Award winning to any who watch.
You need to see Ron at his weakest, fighting to stay alive while breaking down the remnants of a cocky cowboy. He becomes a rather sharp business man, yet finds himself passing out from time to time. It's a A+ showing from McConaughey and a performance with the likes of A Time to Kill & Lincoln Lawyer.
The movie itself is an interesting ride through the 1980s AIDs crisis, riddled with facts and legal caveats which Ron and his sidekicks exploit. You will see how under-funded research really was at the time and notice the awful stigma attached to AIDs patients.
A shallow viewer may pass over this movie, hating it for being a story about a "recognizable sort of redeemed bad boy" (JESSE CATALDO- SLANT MAGAZINE). Some may find the filthy nature of Ron and the focus on transvestite and homosexual culture repulsive but these people are missing a gem of a movie. Some viewers went as far as to say this movie was cliché'd and portrayed health care pros in a bad light to which I would say-- It's only a movie. The grittiness of the film was not well received by all either as there are many nude sex scenes and drug use. It is a rather mature film.
The movie is steeped in darkness, balanced with heart and laced with a silver lining of cool that only McConaughy can bring. Highly Recommended! Send me a message with questions or further insight!