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EDITOR'S PICK
'Dallas
Buyers Club' - reflects reality (IANS Movie Review)
Rating: ***1/2
Unlike Director Dylan Mohan Gray's hard-hitting documentary, 'Fire in the
Blood', which was released in the Indian theaters last October, 'Dallas Buyers Club' is a fascinating dramatization of the same
subject.
It depicts how the medical profession, government and pharmaceutical giants in
the US dragged their heels in promoting the expensive AZT and ignoring its toxic
side effects and welfare of AIDS patients.
The film, written by Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack, was inspired by an article
that appeared in The Dallas Morning News in 1992. It is a straight-up portrait
of a man who figured out a way to cling to life, longer than anyone expected. It
is a great human story of strength, acceptance and adversity.
Set in 1985, it is the real life story of a Dallas electrician Ron Woodroof
(Matthew McConaughey) who leads a reckless life. After a minor work accident at
work, he lands up in a hospital, where a blood test reveals that he is infected
with the HIV virus and is told that he would live for a maximum 30 days.
Shattered with this revelation, he responds violently with loathing bitterness
to doctors Sevard (Denis O'Hare) and Eve Saks (Jennifer Garner), interpreting
their diagnosis as an insult to his unrestrained heterosexual virility.
Shunned and ostracized by many of his old friends, he parties hard with hookers
and drugs, weakening his immune system even further, until he develops AIDS.
Being a go-getter, he first bribes a hospital janitor to slip him a supply of
AZT, the only medication that was being trial-tested at that time by the FDA.
But when that supply dries up, and with his condition worsening, reality hits
him hard. He realizes that he needs to take stock of his life, so he crosses the
border to Mexico, where an unlicensed American doctor (Griffin Dunne) tells him
AZT is poisonous and suggests alternative treatment. The new treatment
stabilizes Ron and he feels better. It also gives him the idea of an
entrepreneurial opportunity.
So, in order to target a client base of gays and potential HIV patients, he
partners with Rayon (Jared Leto) a drug-addicted transsexual who he meets in the
hospital. Together, they start the 'Dallas Buyers Club' with a $400
enrolment fee.
Ron circumvents FDA regulations by importing unlicensed drugs that he
distributed 'for free' through the club, which instead charged an 'admission fee', a loophole that meant that technically he wasn't
selling the medication. The operation was a scam, but the results were
impressive.
McConaughey plays Ron Woodroof with deep sincerity. The physical as well as the
emotional evolution of the character through the film is incredibly and
spectacularly real. He shines as the despicable, selfish, racist, homophobic and
equally excels as a caring and a likeable person.
He is ably supported by Jared Leto who as Rayon brings life and light moments to
this otherwise gloomy story. He infuses the role with compassion and humanity
balanced with equal measures of self-destruction.
The direction is passionate, though formulaic with decent production values.
Vallee hits the crux of the story on the onset and ensures that the characters
lead head on and they never digress.
What's more? The film does not advocate self-medication or glorify Ron
Woodroof's demeanour. It just simply lays the cards on the table.
This film is worth a watch.