Really Enjoyed This!

Rating: 8/10 (22 August 2015)

I was surprised that this film missed out on Best Picture because it for me it beat anything else that year in terms of substance, intensity and creativity.
Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor winners here were well deserved, but I think Best Picture would've been justified. I thought Jared Leto's portrayal of the transvestite was amazing, so convincing in terms of fragility and the frustration of being a woman in a man's body, in addition to all the little quirks of mannerism exhibited by effeminate men.
There is so much in this film for the budding film student to consider, it's an absolute treasure of essay worthy material. The single most important topic in the film for me is a man's right to choose alternative medicine as a legitimate treatment for disease, in this case the focus was AIDS, but could also be seen in the context of cancer or anything else.
The ethics of big pharma is covered which is held in contrast to the ethics of the individual entrepreneur played brilliantly here by Matthew McConaughey. While the activities of big pharma are protected by law, the corruptive profit motive at the core of American industry is suggested in the film to be at odds with the public's best interests when McConaughey's entrepreneurial character offers a homeopathic alternative which appears to work. The authorities try everything in the book to put him out of business but the entrepreneurial spirit at the heart of his American Dream to challenge the pharmaceutical industry establishment refuses to concede defeat.
There is a sting in the tail however and I wont mention it here because it is a spoiler for those yet to see this movie. There is a lot more to this movie which includes bigotry, misogyny, homophobia, class struggle, to name but a few of society's least attractive characteristics. Dallas Buyer's Club is a huge dose of gritty realism we haven't seen for quite a while and a true story it appears. Go see it!