Dallas Buyers Club (2013)

[Plain Old Tele]

Discuss.

[MagnetMan]

As is the case with most of these films featuring big-name stars making drastic changes to their appearances, "Dallas Buyers Club" was... meh.  It was good.  I would go so far as to say it was really, pretty good.  But it just lacked the "pow" factor.  it needed a good, gut-churning, heart-rending scene that just never seemed to show up. 

 

There was a major death... and that occurred off-screen.  There was a major character arc with a fairly good grocery store confrontation.  But there were no chill-bumps.  I was totally expecting a scene much like the one in "Big Fish" where Dr. Manhattan tells Daddy Warbucks the story of how he dies.  Something powerful like that.

 

But it was all right.  A solid "B+"

[AniNate]

I really felt for both Woothrup(?) and Rayonne. They played off each other really well which made the eventual tragedy all the more heartbreaking. Both McConaughey and Leto deserve Oscar noms. My only complaint is about the ending. They spent most of the film demonizing AZT only to say it ended up playing a major role saving lives? Doesn't make sense. Maybe once I have access to my laptop again I can research a bit but as of now I give it an high A-

[Sam]

I agree with MagnetMan in some parts, especially about the lack of "pow" factor. The story didn't left me cold, but I don't fully feel connected and invested either. It's somewhat unsatisfying.

 

Said that, I still enjoyed Dallas Buyers Club a lot and thought it's well-made. The best thing about the movie is definitely in the acting department. Acting performances were fantastic. Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto really deserved all the early praises and hype. 

 

A- from me.

Edited November 25, 2013 by Sam

[MagnetMan]

I really felt for both Woothrup(?) and Rayonne. They played off each other really well which made the eventual tragedy all the more heartbreaking. Both McConaughey and Leto deserve Oscar noms. My only complaint is about the ending. They spent most of the film demonizing AZT only to say it ended up playing a major role saving lives? Doesn't make sense. Maybe once I have access to my laptop again I can research a bit but as of now I give it an high A-

 

Yeah, the AZT part was a bit confusing. They really should have elaborated that the initial problem was over-dosage, instead of acting like it was pure death-dealing poison.  The whole movie was people snatching IV's out of their arms... and then the end title card says, "oh, they scaled it back and now it's saving hundreds of thousands of people."  I mean... that's like "Erin Brockovich" ending with Julia Roberts passing out SMALLER drinking glasses and then raising her arms like she's won some great victory.

[Kvikk Lunsj]

Like Magnet Man says this movie lack a wow factor. The acting in the movie was wonderful. Mattew McConaughey and Jared Leto both deserve Oscar nominations.  I enjoyed seeing the movie but I do not care to see it. The story is pretty straight forward but it lacks on what makes this film special. I feel like I seen many movies like this before. It is an interesting story to tell but I wish they would done a better job.  I also do not get the whole AZT thing. In the movie they keep saying how bad it is but at the end flash cards they are like oh AZT is a good drug not a bad one. It feels like something out an M. Night movie

B

[MagnetMan]

 The acting in the movie was wonderful. Mattew McConaughey and Jared Leto both deserve Oscar nominations.

 

Agreed.  Especially Leto.  McConaughey was great but I felt he was basically playing a slight variation of himself

[RobinHood26]

Great movie, the editing is meh in some places but the story and performances from the acting all shine

 

B+ (89)

[baumer]

My guess is the makers of AZT probably threatened to sue the film if they didn't put some kind of small blurb at the end of the film as it actually did help save lives.  But if you did a little bit of research, the drug AZT has a very checkered past.  Check out this link:

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/the-rise-and-fall-of-azt-it-was-the-drug-that-had-to-work-it-brought-hope-to-people-with-hiv-and-aids-and-millions-for-the-company-that-developed-it-it-had-to-work-there-was-nothing-else-but-for-many-who-used-azt--it-didnt-2320491.html

 

I thought the movie was really good and McConaughey and Leto were fantastic.  I like how they went after the FDA and exposed them for the charlatans they are.  

 

i hope they both get an oscar nomination.  

 

8.5/10

[mattmav45]

Damn good film.Doesn't really do anything exceptional, but the strong story coupled with the performances are more than enough to carry the film. McConaughey is fantastic in this.One of my faves of the year.A-/B+

[lilmac]

Dallas Buyers Club, Mud, Wolf of Wall Street - The Year of McConaughey

[Jack Nevada]

Absolutely fantastic. McConaughey deserves all the awards. Easily one of the very best movies from 2013 and a classic in the making. I loved it to bits. 

 

5/5

Edited January 4, 2014 by Jack Nevada

[ladyevenstar22]

 easy  A!

 

McConaughey scared the beejeezus out of me with how thin he looked and jared leto too but he's always been a bit like that 

 

a boy's body  by that i mean i doubt he had to lose as much mass as MM considering different body types!

 

anyhoo to bring a bit of levity to such a grave subject , i during a scene or two did wonder if a certain phallic appendage had shrink along with their previous body mass 

 

its just sad to think the FDA screwed so many people over like that , and to see certain doctors camp on the established position and forgetting that they are first and foremost scientist and swear an oath to heal not help processes that are bad for their patient health 

at the very least consider all the research before siding with pharmaceutical companies , so much wrong done because every country was doing their thing instead of making it a concerted effort 

i'm still amazed all these years later they still haven't cured aids , but at least you can live with it hmm

 

jared was pretty neat in this , i mean i always thought the guy had way too pretty eyes for a man  but i thought it was not cool they let him die off-screen when he was such a part of the story and that MM character didnt get to say goodbye !

but i love how everyone rallied around him trying to keep this club going 

 

he did good , stayed alive 7 yrs more , cleaned his act up and ended up helping lots of people he didnt care and couldnt stand at all in the beginning because of bigotry and they turned out to care for him more than his own people from his previous life 

 

one thing that wasnt particularly original was the theme of cowboy country and gays ! are they trying to drive home some subliminal point ?

after breakback mountain would have been nice to see another environment , only reason i didnt give this an A+ is because i didnt cry , i mean i cried or at least teared up for BM and PHILADELPHIA hello waterworks 

 

next movies with gays in it , i want it to be upbeat  (that 's 2 aids-related ones and a romeo&romeo star-crossed one) and i want them to be the main characters their thing , now find me some actors without them looking sick or losing weight 

 

ooh wait i forgot about "the kids are alright" that was a good movie with a gay couple living normal life

 

okay next blue jasmine ...probably tomorrow unless gasp she's not nominated

Edited January 16, 2014 by ladyevenstar22

[Michael Gary Scott]

Good movie greater performances. 4/5

[LexJoker]

Great movie, the editing is meh in some places but the story and performances from the acting all shine

 

B+ (89)

Was not impressed with the editing in many parts too.

Great performances by Mc but especially by Leto.

 

B+

[Fancyarcher]

Dallas Buyers Club opens with a scene of Matthew McConaughey humping a woman while at a bull riding venue. There is no dialogue in the scene, just the sound effect of "screeching". This opening scene more or less sets the audience up for what they should expect the film to be like. Certainly, it is one of the more interesting ways in which a director opens his film this year.Dallas Buyers Club is based off the story of Ron Woodroof, played by Matthew McConaughey, who lost 40 pounds for this role and almost dominates the film. Woodroof was a handsome, macho, playboy, homophobic bull rider, but after he was diagnosed with HIV, due to unprotected sex, he starts to see things a little differently. After getting approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Woodroof gets AZT to treat HIV/AIDs, but due to consuming AZT, as well as substance abuse, Woodroof comes close to dying. Realizing this, Woodroof starts a worldwide search for a fallen doctor (Griffin Dunne) who prescribes antiviral drugs. Along the way, Woodroof meets Rayon, a transvestite who changes Woodroof's views on homosexuals, and played by Jared Leto, who is completely transformed in this role, with makeup and weight loss much like McConaughey. Becoming an inspiration for HIV/AIDS people everywhere, Woodroof, along with his friend Rayon, starts The Dallas Buyers Club, a new place for HIV people, which eventually leads him directly in conflict with the FDA.Dallas Buyers Club shows how "greedy" and untrustworthy pharmaceutical companies can be. The film actually seems to support two different sides. On the one side, you have Dr. Sevard (Denis O'Hare) and Richard Barkley (Michael O'Neill) representing the "corrupt" side of things. More motivated by money than anything else, they don't even seemingly bother to look at how good their prescriptions are. The other side is the "good guys", the ones who seemingly want to help: Eve (Jennifer Garner), and Dr. Vass (Griffin Dunne). Some people are just in it for the money and are not to be trusted.The acting is, for the most part, pretty great. This film relies heavily on its performances. As mentioned above, both McConaughey and Leto lost a lot of weight to play their roles, and both actors are very skinny. McConaughey, as Woodruff, delivers an Oscar worthy performance. His accent fits the character perfectly, and he portrays an abuser with tremendous power. When McConaughey says "fuck" when he discovers that he is truly diagnosed with HIV and AIDS, his scream is delivered priceless. McConaughey, as an actor, has gone through a major career change, and is no longer considered a joke among his peers. He went from being a promising actor, the male lead in "lousy romantic comedies", and to where he is now, a real serious dramatic actor. The fact that he manages to snag so many award nominations, and even win a few, as well the Oscar possibly, speaks volumes of how much he has changed as an actor.I wouldn't be the first to say the film’s most outstanding performance is not from McConaughey himself, but from Jared Leto as Rayon. His voice, his makeup, its all done perfectly, transformed into his role as a transvestite. Sometimes, I even swear he was a woman. His performance in Dallas Buyers Club, feels very much like a Leto performance, as it continues his willingness to do anything for a role. It's not hard to see why he is the frontrunner this year for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.Most of the other performances in the film are good, but those two are especially outstanding. Jennifer Garner is unmemorable in the role as Eve a doctor. Though Garner isn't awful, her performance leaves much to desire. Thankfully even the writers realized that, as the film seems to be more about the relationship between Woodroof and Rayon, then that of Woodroof and Eve. Denis O'Hare and Michael O'Neill are just playing stock corrupt doctors and aren't developed much beyond that, which may be considered one of the films biggest weakness, though it didn't bother me at all.The direction by French Canadian director Jean-Marc Vallee is especially good. Just about every shot is clear. The decision to have scenes without dialogue and just “screeching”, was especially interesting. If this was in the wrong hands, it could have potentially been disastrous. The editing is also good and the film flows at a nice pace, being a little less than 2 hours. Dallas Buyers Club is an extraordinary film which shows just how far one man with AIDS went to find a cure. The acting and directing makes the film and it is definitely one of 2013's very best.9 / 10

Edited February 10, 2014 by Fancyarcher

[Olive]

9 out of 10

Give McConaughey and Leto the Oscars.

[ChD]

Well, I just finished watching this and I have to say I had my problems with it, but overall it was a good movie.

 

What I didn't like was the ending... We just get that random scene of him riding a bull and then that's it. The editing was also pretty 'brutal', let's say, but I have to say it somehow fit the movie. The problem was that they failed to make us actually care for these characters. What they needed was some background... some stories from their past (especially with Leto's character).

 

I did tear up a bit at the end when Ron came home and found everyone there, applauding him. I was really moved by that scene, but overall the movie was pretty dry when it comes to trying getting some emotional response from the crown.

B+

 

Just have to say Leto and Matthew deserved those Oscars.

[Crusader]

I saw it and I liked it but to put it as simple as I can

 

good movie GREAT performances

 

oh and the butterfly scene was really beautiful because I expected the grittiness of the movie to play throughout so when they went into that kind of metaphorical stuff (Leto's character dying at the moment when caterpillars all turned into butterflies ) I was touched a bit

 

overall 8/10

 

Leto did helluva job and while MM was great too .... his performance wasn't the best of the year sorry academy

[Goffe]

I thought it was pretty good when it was dealing with homophobia and Ron evolution as a character. It doesn't beat you over the head with it. People aren't either monsters or saints, there are just people who are affected by the environment they are in. 

 

But that's just the first half.

 

The other half is just A repetition of what the first half already showed us in small glimpses. Gets really boring and pedestrian with all government bureaucracy, evil doctors and pharmaceutical lobby stuff. 

 

One thing about this movie is undeniable, McConaughey and Leto performances are simply mesmerizing, and I say that as a person who is a not a fan of either actors, especially McConaughey, who I think gives the same performance every time. 70/100