Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey) is a hard-living electrician and rodeo cowboy in 1980s Dallas. After an accident, he's diagnosed with AIDS and given just 30 days to live. Woodroof undergoes a regimen of experimental AZT drug which only makes him sicker. He travels to Mexico, discovering that disgraced Dr. Vass (Griffin Dunne) a combination of drugs that works better than AZT. Woodroof teams with another AIDS patient, transsexual Rayon (Jared Leto), to distribute these drugs through a buyers' club. His activities catch the eye of FDA Agent (Michael O'Neill), who acts to shut down Woodruff's operation.
Dallas Buyers Club makes for a perfect libertarian fable. The FDA and pharmaceutical companies fast track AZT in dangerous doses - either addressing a desperate need over-eagerly or a callow conspiracy to make a buck. Of course it's Dr. Vass, disgraced, de-licensed and living in Mexican exile, who harnesses the miracle cures! Vallee and writers Craig Borten and Melissa Wallack try to soft pedal this, for instance by showing Ron overdose on one of his medications. But Dallas sees no problem with Ron running drugs from Japan or shipping black market meds to his policeman friend (Steve Zahn).
The criticism, that government regulations slow or curtail availability of medications, is fair enough. Especially in the context of the AIDS epidemic, where public panic and need for a useful cure outpacing the speed of bureaucracy. But this reviewer finds it dangerous to generalize with such matters. Enough cases of doctor shopping and drug abuse, let alone quack pills and tainted drugs, show that FDA regulations make sense. Dallasreally only needs a push towards destructive nonsense like anti-vaccine paranoia, which does more than theoretical damage.
Even those who don't buy Dallas's conceit should appreciate its human element. Woodroof's transformation to hotshot black marketer seems improbable, but becomes an extension of his wild lifestyle. If he develops a friendship for Rayon he never fully sheds his prejudices: his first instinct when meeting a straight woman patient is to take her to bed. Even his pseudo-romance with Dr. Saks has its poignant moments. Rayon is sensitively rendered, avoiding the pitfalls of the "gay best friend" stereotype: he gets nice moments away from Woodroof, like meeting his disapproving father.
Matthew McConaughey's impressive performance helps too. Continuing his recent transition from pretty boy to serious actor, McConaughey sheds weight and otherwise commits. Ron softens without losing his essential character, the hardest kind of character arcs. His natural brashness re-channels boozing and whoring into criminal enterprise, thumbing his nose at arrogant doctors and pesky G-Men. It's a nice turn, sparkling with a nuance I'd never have expected from the star of U-571 and Failure to Launch.
Jared Leto avoids playing up stereotype, giving Rayon humor and warmth, making him suitably tragic when necessary. The other cast members aren't so impressive. Jennifer Garner is fairly colorless, while Denis O'Hare and Michael O'Neill play as too obvious of villains.
Dallas Buyers Club is good despite being rough around its thematic edges. Perhaps Groggy's being a statist scrooge, but the movie's message is too case-dependent for me to jump on board. That said, it's still an enjoyable show, with a message that engages you even if you're in disagreement.
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