Matthew McConaughey's performance in Dallas Buyers Club is like a prayer. Much can be said about his journey and career as an actor. That aside, one thing is certain; McConaughey brings a sense of urgency, playing a rodeo cowboy dying of AIDS in this true and heartbreaking story of Ron Woodruff, a charming and rambunctious man diagnosed with AIDS during the "˜80s. Stricken with the diagnosis, Ron Woodruff transforms his distress into action. Quickly realizing that the medicine needed to keep him alive doesn't come cheap and is not available stateside, he sets up an international business venture, getting the drugs through an array of tactics to help cope with the pain. He eventually starts helping other AIDS patients and befriends one such individual named Rayon, a transgender woman portrayed by Jared Leto, who helps Ron and others like them fight for their rights to the proper treatment and medication for the AIDS virus. Jennifer Garner also co-stars as Dr. Eve Saks, a kind but calculated woman, who at first resists helping Ron and Rayon but soon comes to her senses and becomes their comrade within the hospital walls.
As Ron grows weaker, his friendships and determination grow stronger. Years from now, McConaughey's performance will be the standard template in acting classes around the country. Five minutes in, I thought he was Woodruff.
Written by Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack and directed by Jean Marc-Vallee, Dallas Buyers Club is an emotional roller coaster, similar to the life of the real Ron Woodruff. A cowboy hat and belt buckle wearing, leather-faced mustachioed man who beat the odds of surviving the AIDS virus. Initially given less than a month to live, he went on to live seven full years. A Texas-sized victory.
