There are films which belong to the director; there are
films which belong to the screen writer; there are even films which belong to
the special effects team. Such can be
the impact on a movie that when one or more people brings something to elevate a
piece, it can tower over the input of everyone else involved. In the case of 'Dallas Buyers Club', the two
key performances of lead actors Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto are so
remarkable, they simply tower over the entire movie - and in some ways almost
elevating the entire film above some of its flaws.
Much has already been made of McConaughey's performance,
not least due to his shocking physical transformation to play HIV/AIDS victim
Ron Woodroof (he is, at times, as thin as a corpse), but also because he is
strongly tipped to win an Oscar for his portrayal of this real-life
person. For me however, the real
revelation was Jared Leto as Transvestite Rayon, who is also an HIV/AIDS
victim. Leto portrays him as a fully
rounded person, capable of strength and sass, but also incredibly vulnerable at
times; he gets one of the film's most moving scenes as Rayon meets with his
estranged father. So good is Leto in this
to be honest I wondered why he doesn't just chuck in the whole rock band thing,
and do more acting - so great is his performance.
But there's no denying that this is McConaughey's film,
his performance as Woodroof feels truthful and even handed; Woodroof is
introduced as a pretty shady character, taking and dealing drugs, scamming his
friends out of money in false bets, having sex with groupies underneath the
stage at the rodeo. It would have been
very easy to portray him in a completely negative manner, but McConaughey
brings out enough humanity so that you never end up disliking the man
entirely. It is possible to see that in
other hands Woodroof's progression from someone acting out of total
self-preservation, to developing some semblance of compassion for those who,
like himself, were given short-shrift in trying to have their disease treated -
even when most of these people were Gay (and the film makes no qualms about openly
showing Woodroof's homophobia). This
sort of character progression has been done in many other films, and most often
it is done in a cack-handed and corny manner.
But McConaughey's warts and all approach to playing Woodroof means that
it never feels forced, or convenient, or schmaltzy.
 |
| Leto and McConaughey are virtually unrecognisable in this; but their performances as unforgettable. |
Although the lead performances are outstanding, they are
never showy, and the rest of the film takes a similar low-key approach. Whilst this benefits the performances, it
doesn't always do the same for the film itself - the first act feels like it is
unsure what it is aiming for, as Woodroof's life spirals after his diagnosis -
losing his job, his friends (who see the illness as a 'faggot's disease', in
their words), his home. At the same time
his attempts at getting treatment do not succeed and he ends up in Mexico,
being treated by a disgraced former Doctor.
At this point I could help but think maybe the film was going to become
a sort of medicinal 'Breaking Bad', with Ron smuggling drugs over the border in
to the US! It is not until Woodroof hits
upon taking unapproved medicines back to the States to sell to those with HIV,
that the film feels like it has found a narrative, as Woodroof tries to get
round the limiting and near-sited Food & Drug Administration (FDA) rules on
the medicines that HIV/AIDS patients have access to by forming 'Buyers Clubs'
(instead of buying the medicines which would be illegal, members pay a monthly
'fee' and are given the medicines whilst they are in the club). Here the film becomes a little heavy-handed
too, as the FDA, and the links to pharmaceutical companies, are shown in a very
critical light. Rightly so - the only
available treatment at the time was a trial of the drug AZT, which was being
administered in such doses it was actually hastening the patients' demise; and
despite many protests for wider access to appropriate treatment, the FDA
staunchly blocked everything apart from AZT (due to, in no small part, the fact
that the company making AZT were paying the FDA for this position). It is right that the power and influence of
'Big Pharma' is highlighted and challenged, but in almost making them the
'villains' of the film, it almost strays in to melodramatic, 'daytime movie' territory.
The direction as well is generally no frills, apart from
a couple of moments of visual allegory/metaphor which veer close to
predictability and cliché. But having
said all this, none of this detracts from the astounding central performances,
and the fact that Ron Woodroof's story IS a powerful and at times moving
one. This film should be seen for
McConaughey's and Leto's brilliant acting, and also for an important insight in
to a chapter in recent history which poses difficult questions about the
treatment of minority groups, those with little-understood diseases, and the
potential abuse of wealth and power by large pharmaceutical companies. Even if you don't come away dwelling on any
of that, you'll remember the acting in this film. If McConaughey walks away with an Oscar next
month, you won't hear any complaints from me.
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