dallas buyers club

Ron Woodroof is an electrician and rodeo cowboy with a devil-may-care lifestyle who is blindsided with an H.I.V.-positive diagnosis and given 30 days to live. He quickly finds a lack of approved medications in the U.S. and crosses the border into Mexico where he learns about alternative treatments and begins smuggling them into the U.S. Ron finds an unlikely ally in fellow AIDS patient Rayon, a transsexual who shares Ron's lust for life and entrepreneurial spirit. They establish a "buyers club," where H.I.V.-positive people pay monthly dues for access to the newly acquired supplies. Deep in the heart of Texas, Ron's pioneering underground collective beats loud and strong as he fights for dignity, education, and acceptance.

I went into this movie anticipating Matthew McConaughey's performance because his looks disturbed me immensely a la Christian Bale in The Machinist—I feel like if you practically destroyed your body for a film, I have to see it to judge whether all that unhealthy dieting was worth it. And boy oh boy, it definitely did pay off for Matthew.

I'll be the first to admit I'm not the greatest fan of his work (Magic Mike comes to mind) but this movie changed my impression. From the denial to acceptance stage of his disease, his world view changes and that gives me hope because even the most unlikely of people can change. His acting was aided by the script; good development for his character Ron as we see him change from being a homophobe to being somewhat accepting of this minority, and that unrelenting urge to live is basically what being human and being alive is about.

However, we need to talk about the issue of Rayon, the transgender woman portrayed by Jared Leto. Props to his performance, but why can't an actual transgender woman actually play this role instead? There are no shortage of them. And somehow, Rayon felt... out of place, like she didn't add all that much to the story, except for her (questionable, perhaps) friendship with Ron. She definitely does help him change from a misogynist and homophobe to someone more accepting and tolerable, but perhaps this is due to the fact that they are both dying.

With all that said, I am absolutely ready for the 'McConaissance'. Currently marathoning True Dectective!!!