Dallas Buyers Club is best described as a revelation. Matthew McConaughey has completely reinvented himself, defying his critics to deliver one of the finest performances you’ll ever see. Dallas Buyers Club is based on the true story of Texas electrician Ron Woodroof who made history in 1986 by taking his fight for fair medical attention and access to the right drugs for HIV to a new level. Award winning Canadian director, Jean-Marc Vallée (The Young Victoria, C.R.A.Z.Y., Café de Flore) has taken the craft of filmmaking to new heights here.

McConaughey plays Ron Woodroof, a hard-drinking, hard fighting, homophobic man’s man, who spends his days as an electrician, his nights drinking and doing drugs, and his weekends at the rodeo. A trip to the hospital results in the doctors telling him that he has HIV and has approximately 30 days to live. Denying that he has “the gay disease,” he throws himself even harder into his ‘party hard’ lifestyle, but slowly comes to realise that he is dying, and will die soon unless he gets help. The movie follows his journey from homophobe to HIV activist, his clashes with small town mentalities to the drug dealing hero of the LGBT community. His mission will take him from Dallas to Mexico to Japan to Amsterdam, desperately trying to get the medication he needs to live while at the same time (initially) trying to make a profit to sustain his needs.

I could talk and talk about McConaughey, who does an the most incredible and convincing job with a difficult role. When I heard rumours of an Oscar nomination, I didn’t believe them. I was wrong. This is a movie everyone should see. The rest of the cast similarly impress, from Jared Leto’s return to acting as Rayon, Ron’s transsexual junkie business partner to Jennifer Garner playing Ron’s doctor, stuck between a rock and hard place. Leto in particular shines, playing it with just enough sadness to make it believable. It’s not without problems, but they are so minor they don’t rate mentioning. This a remarkable movie that will inspire and move you.

Donal O’Connor

 @DallasBuyersClub @McConaughey

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Shown at this year’s TIFF13 : Toronto International Film Festival and the Rome Int’l Film Fest @romacinemafest