Another overly simplistic biopic

Rating: 3/10 (22 October 2015)

I find these biopics very hard to watch, though this is better than most.
The worst part of this movie is the hypocrisy. At one point the main character, Ron, argues that a study in the Lancet proves that a certain drug works, a drug that he is prevented from getting access to. Yet a theme throughout the movie involves an evil hospital doctor trying to stop people using drugs 'that work' so he can test a drug so a pharmaceutical company can get rich. How would he test that drug? Using exactly the same method that was used in the Lancet paper. Indeed, as was presented, it's difficult to know if something is working or not if patients are taking a range of drugs. You can't attack the scientific method and applaud it simultaneously.
In many ways this was an advertisement for cowboy science, which, as numerous scandals over the years have shown, is not a good idea, regardless of how desperate you are. Of course, the desperate patients (or their families) will probably be suing the companies and hospitals if the drug is later shown to be harmful and if it wasn't tested properly. This movie is a lawyers delight.
Unfortunately the movie didn't get much beyond a politician explaining a war in terms of 'good guys' and 'bad guys'. The performances were pretty good, though the script was not memorable. I don't think I'll be quoting lines from this movie.
It could have been such a better movie if it was presented in realistic greys rather than straight black and white. The story has been given the Hollywood treatment, and they know what they're doing. It got the crowds.