"Dallas Buyers Club" (2013)

Since the late 80's and early 90's, the cause for people with HIV and AIDs has advanced tremendously. Though a stigma still remains surrounding people who have the disease, most have come to accept those who have it and regret how not so long ago we were ignorant and foolish regarding its existence and those who suffered from it. We're familiar with it, and we're familiar with the stories about it, and familiarity in a story means it makes it difficult to create a story that seems like we haven't heard it before. Based on a true story, Dallas Buyers Club is about homophobic Texan Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey) who eventually changes the tune of his drum as he contracts HIV, and later full-blown AIDS, and sells unapproved drugs to a largely homosexual and transgendered clientele. What begins as a cash grab quickly transforms the man. While its sympathy for both those afflicted with the disease and the gay community is nice to see, Buyers Club feels far too calculated in its eagerness to get an emotional response from us. The film treats its subject as a sentimental, weepy melodrama, glossing over some of the darker elements at work in the narrative. Dallas Buyers Club could take a cue from its lead: McConaunghey's emotional nakedness stands in sharp relief to the material he's working with, elevating an unremarkable film.

Grade: ★★★