Way More Riveting & Compelling Than Anticipated

Rating: 9/10 (29 November 2014)

I rate movies very carefully, with lots of thought put into what digit I wind up settling on. For me to choose 9/10 says one thing: that this person, I, truly believe this film is worth that number (keep in mind that a 9/10 in the film industry is considered a home-run, not that professional film critics use methods such as a 0-10 numbers rating system I'm sure, but you know what I mean) based on a number of key elements. The casting is spot-on - this is the sort of role that Matthew McConaughey really sinks his teeth into and rides out all the way. First off, the A-list actor shed a whopping 38 pounds of himself to portray an HIV-AIDS patient, and secondly, his middle-fingers-up "fuck y'all" rodeo persona comes naturally to McConaughey it seems. Jennifer Garner, as usual, plays the squint-eyed, uptight female role, and plays it to a tee. Maybe she's like that in real life so it's not hard for her, or something. I'm not an overly- huge fan of Jennifer Garner, but she certainly has talent, no doubt about that. Jared Leto - I couldn't place him at first - does a phenomenal job portraying the role of Rayon, a trans-gender HIV-AIDS patient who partners up with Ron Woodruff (McConaughey) - at first, Woodruff is intensely homophobic and downright offensive-talking toward Rayon, but warms up to him, and eventually makes Rayon a business partner.
All in all, a great film - very moving, kept me sucked in all the way through. A very "human" film.