Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée
Starring:
Matthew McConaughey
Jennifer Garner
Jared Leto
Steve Zahn
Dallas Roberts
Michael O’Neill
Denis O’Hare
Griffin Dunne
John Tabler
Jane McNeill
James DuMont
Running time: 116 minutes
Plot Synopsis: (via Wikipedia)
Matthew McConaughey stars as AIDS patient Ron Woodroof, who smuggled unapproved pharmaceutical drugs into Texas when he found them effective at improving his symptoms, distributing them to fellow sufferers by establishing the eponymous “Dallas Buyers Club” whilst facing opposition from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
My Opinion:
Matthew McConaughey… I watched & reviewed Mud recently & commented that I’ve never really been a fan of his (other than in Dazed & Confused – he’s hilariously pervy in that). I didn’t LOVE him in Mud but did like that it was a different sort of role to what I’ve seen him do before. Then I saw him in The Wolf Of Wall Street and thought he was great (although we’ve kind of seen him play that smarmy sort of guy before). Well, McConaughey is finally growing on me after Dallas Buyers Club. I really liked him in it & really enjoyed the movie. And since seeing this movie, I’ve also watched the first episode of True Detective. I don’t love the show quite yet (sorry, Eric!) but it seems to have potential & McConaughey is clearly the one to watch. The main reason I’ll be watching a few more episodes will be to see how they develop his character.
As for this movie, I’ve not looked into how accurate it is compared to the true story but it’s the type of story that’s perfect for a Hollywood adaptation so I can see why it was done. It was fascinating to watch the story unfold. It does go a bit “Hollywood” at times but, hey, what doesn’t? It’s a gritty and a serious subject matter but has great characters & relationships and you can’t help but want a happy Hollywood ending even though you know that’s not going to be the case here. The movie doesn’t focus TOO heavily on all the issues and failures of the FDA (which was fine by me). I think it strikes a good balance between telling us the story & focusing on developing the characters, which is usually just as important (if not more important to me) than a film’s story. McConaughey & Leto are both very good and I think deserving of their Oscar nominations (particularly McConaughey) although wins probably aren’t likely against others nominated. Seriously, though – How many times do I have to type McConaughey before my iPhone recognizes it?! I hope it’s by the time I review Bernie.
Summary:
Keeping this short as I’ve gotten lazy fallen very behind on writing my own reviews since all the great IMDB guest reviews that have been pouring in. Dallas Buyers Club has a very interesting story with well developed characters and some Oscar worthy acting. You can’t really ask for much more. It’s a solid movie and I’m glad I saw it. It’s also yet another best picture Oscar nominee that’s better than American Hustle. (I still have five more of those to watch before the Oscars – I better hurry!)
My Rating: 8/10
Cinema Parrot Disco 