Review of Dallas Buyer's Club by Valee

I saw Dallas Buyers as the first part of a late serious season double feature. It was brought back to circulation for awards consideration. I would not be surprised if this film did win a few awards for acting. McConaughy and Leto turn in very good performances. I was not disappointed by any aspect of this film. I read the review in Rolling Stone, but missed it the first time around because of time conflicts. I'm very glad that I saw it on the second time around. I enjoy the serious or "awards" season films much better than the summer blockbuster season. Yet, I'm still interested to see what is coming out for the Summer and I will, against my better judgement, pay for some form of entertainment which may serve as fodder for this blog.

The film was great. An excellent story brought off the page by a director who I have not heard of. Once you get past all the racism and homophobia of McConaughy and his friends the film has real substance about the changing attitudes towards LGBT people. Set in the heart of Texas it takes awhile for McConaughy to overcome his biases and prejudicies, and by the end of the film, you sense that he has changed.

The major turning point comes when Rayon and he hug each other deeply shortly before Rayon dies. Rayon is given great life by Jared Leto. In her we see the situation which a number of LGBT people find themselves in. She is transgendered, a word hardly in use in 1980s Texas, she is infected with HIV/AIDS, and she is an addict. Later on we are led to believe she has been estranged from her family. It is Rayon, and furthermore Rayon's relationship to McConaughy's character that gives the film real substance. It is here that the film grows into a sympathetic portrayal of those infected by, at the time, an unknown virus which decimated the gay community. Through this relationship Rayon is humanized and anyone who watches the film can't help but feel sympathy for her.

This was, for me, one of those movies that I didn't keep watching my watch during. It's an annoying habit, I know, but normally I like to keep track of where the film is; setup, exposition, rising action, conflict, climax, resolution. Yet, in Dallas Buyers I didn't look at my watch until more than half way through the film. It is that compelling of a film to watch. Especially with McConaughy looking so thin. His jaw bones protrude out of his face like stones.

I was left with the feeling that things got better for McConaughy's character. The intertitles at the end of the film show that he lived longer than expected, which was a victory for him. In retrospect just the making of the film shows that attitudes about LGBT people are changing all over the country and World, even in Texas. Although, I don't think so many people in Texas are going to see this movie. That's a search I'd like to run. How many Texans have seen Dallas Buyers and how did it change their perceptions of LGBT people.