Movie Reaction: Dallas Buyers Club

Formula: Tucker: The Man and His Dream * AIDS

 

Why I Saw It: It was a slow week and I wanted to see what was so great about Matthew McConaughey's performance.

Cast: McConaghey is pretty great in this. I won't pretend that he was transcendent or anything but this is the final piece in a complete career resurgence. I'm now more curious than ever to see Mud. He does everything he can to shade a man who isn't perfect but is doing the best he can. Jared Leto is every bit as impressive. He and McConaughey play off one another very well. He is much more of a face value character though. The movie hints at more going on with him but doesn't focus on it. Jennifer Garner was probably the least complex character in the central cast. She's the doctor who learns to fight the system. That's about it. She does a fine job with it. There's not a lot to it though.

Plot: The story is only interesting about halfway in. That isn't anyone's fault, really. What we have here is the story of a Texas man living a careless life, finds out he has HIV. Instead of accepting his death sentence, he starts moving non-FDA approved drugs into the US by setting up a buyers club. That's the interesting part. From there, it's him fighting a lot of FDA bureaucracy. There's really no big victory to it, just keeping his head above water. And, I couldn't help but feel like they were deifying the character a bit much by the end of it. Over all, it felt like a lot of the details were being skipped over (Like, how is he able to keep getting all these drugs into the US?) so the story never quite sucked me in.

Elephant in the Room: McConaghey sure looks skinny. I had to mention it. I think he lost 35lbs or something, which doesn't sound like that much. For how buff he normally is, it's almost painful to see him look so frail. At times you wonder how his clothes are even staying on. I'd like to think he'd still be getting this awards consideration without the transformation since he is that good in the movie. Having the look of a sickly HIV cowboy though sure helps.

To Sum Things Up:
This is a movie to be seen for the performances, not the story. I liked it just fine but I can't say I agree with anyone suggesting it is a best picture contender. It's surprisingly informative and gives a glimpse into a side of the world seldom seen, which I appreciate. It's not a feel good movie or a downer. It's a neutral movie in a good way.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend