Dallas Buyers Club Critique- By Taylor Ximines and Tsion Habtamu
In the very raunchy ill witted Dallas Buyers Club, filmmakers dish out life from the perspective of Ron Woodroof, an old smoked-out rodeo-loving Texan. What seemed to be an outlandish diagnosis to him, at first in denial and ignorant to his condition like most heterosexual homophobic ‘80s men, Ron continued to dig his own grave with consistent drug and alcohol abuse. After a zombie-like slur of events he has the realization that the time to turn his life around was long overdue. Learning more about his condition, and which medication is truly beneficial, he finds himself in a dispute with the FDA for seemingly effective unapproved drugs. This film highlights and shows how one man (and many like him) in the 1980’s and early 1990’s went against the administration to find a way to treat the many victims of HIV/AIDS.
The storyline for this film is something that was very strong. This film was not as predictable as most movies that tell stories about social issues can be. The first strong example is that the story opens up with the main character Ron Woodroof (McConaughey) finding out that he has only thirty days to left to live. So as the movie gives us consistent reminders about the few days he has left, the movie takes turns and twists and we see that Ron is still alive and is getting better instead of dying; as most viewers thought he would. Another example of the strong storyline’s unpredictability is when Ron is on a roll with getting the vitamins and medicines needed for his business and clients, and then it seems like overnight it is all gone. As a viewer it left you lost and pondering on how the buyers club would recover from that loss, and it seemed as though it wouldn't. But then the storyline once again took brilliant turns and twists, putting the story back to where the buyers club was again flourishing. (Ron is on his way back from Asia after getting many vitamins and medicine for his buyers club)
Having been lucky to even be alive, and having had experienced life before death, Woodroof spends majority of his time smoking a cigarette in a miscellaneous motel room where he successfully runs his buyers club. With drug abuse particularly common during the time period and there being an abundance of rodeo men scented with nothing but liquor and hay, skimpy motels were at the peak of popularity for the ability to remain inconspicuous and anonymous.The essence of the aged dark mahogany wood in majority of the home sceneries often accompanied by a Texas flag is just one of the characteristics that compliments the era of this film.
Something that was very prominent in Dallas Buyers Club was the acting. Specifically that of Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto. Together they made a dynamic duo that helped make this film what it was in a big way. For McConaughey the sacrifices that he had to make in order to play this role were definitely seen in his performance. The main one is him losing thirty pounds in order to actually look like he was a man dying of AIDS. He made viewers forget that they were watching a movie, he brought them into the character through his acting the best that we have seen in a while. And for Jared Leto, he played a role that is not easy to play. A lot of times when male actors play a woman or a transexual they either overact or make it obvious that it is not a natural role for them. But Leto did a more than phenomenal job at bringing us into the life and actions of Rayon. It was like the viewer was actually watching a transexual diva living with AIDS and not an actor who was paid to play her. Both of these actors helped us sympathize and empathize with the people and situations this movie was based off of. It effectively taught the story that the director was aiming at to teach, about the work that was done in the buyers club and the people they helped.(Jared Leto (left) and Matthew McConaughey(right))
Images Sources:
1. Grierson, Tim. "Dallas Buyers Club." Pastemagazine.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2014.
2. "Samantha Hoffman." : Movie Review: Dallas Buyers Club ***1/2. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2014.
3. Screenshots from Dallas Buyers Club
In the very raunchy ill witted Dallas Buyers Club, filmmakers dish out life from the perspective of Ron Woodroof, an old smoked-out rodeo-loving Texan. What seemed to be an outlandish diagnosis to him, at first in denial and ignorant to his condition like most heterosexual homophobic ‘80s men, Ron continued to dig his own grave with consistent drug and alcohol abuse. After a zombie-like slur of events he has the realization that the time to turn his life around was long overdue. Learning more about his condition, and which medication is truly beneficial, he finds himself in a dispute with the FDA for seemingly effective unapproved drugs. This film highlights and shows how one man (and many like him) in the 1980’s and early 1990’s went against the administration to find a way to treat the many victims of HIV/AIDS.
The storyline for this film is something that was very strong. This film was not as predictable as most movies that tell stories about social issues can be. The first strong example is that the story opens up with the main character Ron Woodroof (McConaughey) finding out that he has only thirty days to left to live. So as the movie gives us consistent reminders about the few days he has left, the movie takes turns and twists and we see that Ron is still alive and is getting better instead of dying; as most viewers thought he would. Another example of the strong storyline’s unpredictability is when Ron is on a roll with getting the vitamins and medicines needed for his business and clients, and then it seems like overnight it is all gone. As a viewer it left you lost and pondering on how the buyers club would recover from that loss, and it seemed as though it wouldn't. But then the storyline once again took brilliant turns and twists, putting the story back to where the buyers club was again flourishing. (Ron is on his way back from Asia after getting many vitamins and medicine for his buyers club)
Having been lucky to even be alive, and having had experienced life before death, Woodroof spends majority of his time smoking a cigarette in a miscellaneous motel room where he successfully runs his buyers club. With drug abuse particularly common during the time period and there being an abundance of rodeo men scented with nothing but liquor and hay, skimpy motels were at the peak of popularity for the ability to remain inconspicuous and anonymous.The essence of the aged dark mahogany wood in majority of the home sceneries often accompanied by a Texas flag is just one of the characteristics that compliments the era of this film.
Something that was very prominent in Dallas Buyers Club was the acting. Specifically that of Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto. Together they made a dynamic duo that helped make this film what it was in a big way. For McConaughey the sacrifices that he had to make in order to play this role were definitely seen in his performance. The main one is him losing thirty pounds in order to actually look like he was a man dying of AIDS. He made viewers forget that they were watching a movie, he brought them into the character through his acting the best that we have seen in a while. And for Jared Leto, he played a role that is not easy to play. A lot of times when male actors play a woman or a transexual they either overact or make it obvious that it is not a natural role for them. But Leto did a more than phenomenal job at bringing us into the life and actions of Rayon. It was like the viewer was actually watching a transexual diva living with AIDS and not an actor who was paid to play her. Both of these actors helped us sympathize and empathize with the people and situations this movie was based off of. It effectively taught the story that the director was aiming at to teach, about the work that was done in the buyers club and the people they helped.(Jared Leto (left) and Matthew McConaughey(right))
Images Sources:
1. Grierson, Tim. "Dallas Buyers Club." Pastemagazine.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2014.
2. "Samantha Hoffman." : Movie Review: Dallas Buyers Club ***1/2. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2014.
3. Screenshots from Dallas Buyers Club