Two terrific performances in an excellent movie

Rating: Null/10 (19 July 2014)

American actor Matthew McConaughey has totally reinvented himself. The jobbing actor who starred in such lightweight work as "How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days" (2003) and "Fool's Gold" (2008), gave an starkly different performance in "Mud" (2012) and is almost unrecognisable in a brilliant piece of work here in "Dallas Buyers Club". McConaughey lost an amazing 47lb to take on the role of real-life Texan electrician Ron Woodroof and deservedly won the Academy Award for Best Actor for totally inhabiting the part. Indeed his Texan drawl was so naturalistic that I didn't catch all the dialogue.
Hardliving Woodruff was diagnosed with AIDS and given three months to life. By a combination of web-based research, hustling for locally available drugs and importing non-approved drugs from Mexico, he kept himself alive and then offered his medicinal cocktail to other HIV/AIDS sufferers for a club fee. In the end, he managed to live for six years.
Canadian Jean-Marc Vallée directed this fine independent movie that was shot for a mere $5.5M over just 25 days. As well as McConaughey, there is another Oscar- winning performances from the superb Jay Leto, who returned to films after five years and himself lost 30lbs for his role as trans-sexual Rayon. Jennifer Gardner is pretty but somewhat weak as Eve, the local hospital doctor who comes to lose faith in big pharma and the medical establishment. In fact both of these characters were created for the movie.