Dallas Buyers Club (2013) Review

Dallas Buyers Club is directed by Jean-Marc-Vallee who also directed the new Reese Witherspoon film Wild. With the Dallas Buyers Club claiming 3 Oscars, I felt I had to see if it really was that good. The film takes place in 1985 and is based on true events about a Texas cowboy named Ron Woodroof who gets diagnosed as HIV positive and has been given 30 days to live. With those 30 days he is determined to survive by any means. Dallas Buyers Club gives us an interesting take of someone getting HIV and how they deal with it, especially around those time. I liked the fact they chose the story they did because they could have gone for the story of a man that tries to fight it off and the struggles, but they went with the story of a person that only tried to fight it off but also created a club to sell what he was using to help others, which made the story more interesting.

Ron Woodroof is played by Mathew McConaughey, who give a fantastic performance, not just acting wise but physically. He looked like a sick man, a man whose lost considerable amount of weight and the weight loss made me believe that the character of Ron Woodroof was sick, sucking me further into the story.  I give credit to actors and actresses that give more to a performance by trying to physically bring the character to life because it can sometimes give more to the film than performances itself. Mathew McConaughey gives a performance that grasps you and never lets you go. He had to play two characters in the film, first the homophobic, manly man, tough guy that you didn't like. Then he had to play the guy you root for, the person that you want to succeed which he played great. Giving two performances that shine. However there was one man (or woman) that took the stage and never stepped down, and that man was Jared Leto. Jared Leto played Rayon, a man who dressed and acts like a woman who also has been diagnosed with HIV. The biggest applauds I can give to Jared Leto’s performance is he plays a woman really well. A few times I couldn't believe that I was watching Jared Leto. He never once gave the impression he was acting, always staying to the character. He gave a stellar performance and there is no doubt that he deserved his Oscar.

Now the score of the film was a mastermind because they only used it when it could heighten a scene or create a vibe. I liked that they used sounds and actual music rather than the conventional instrumental because when they had used the sound which was a high pitch tone, it placed me in the boots of Ron Woodroof (Mathew McConaughey), while the actual music placed me in the scene and in the characters vibe and atmosphere. This wasn't the only pre-production class, the editing of this film also captured and created the feel. The cuts were quick and sometimes edgy creating a fast pace feel to the film, always keeping me alert. This also calculated for the runtime being 1 hour and 50 minutes, which was a perfect runtime, with the film never feeling too quick or too long.

Dallas Buyers Club give us an interesting take that is amplified by the performances of Mathew McConaughey and Jared Leto, who may I add had great chemistry. With the fast pace and sometimes edgy feel the film will never bore or never get too slow. For that reason Dallas Buyers Club deserves a solid 8/10