I think I speak for everyone when I say that Matthew Mcconaughey has completely turned his career around. He was exceptional in Mud, could he possibly be better in Dallas Buyers Club?
Dallas Buyers Club is a drama directed by Jean Marc Vallee and stars Matthew McConaughey as the lead. The film follows a man named Ron Woodroof, an old-fashioned Texas man living a very unhealthy lifestyle. When he contracts the HIV virus as a result of his dirty ways, he decides to open a "Dallas Buyers Club", an institution which people play for memberships so that they can help themselves to vitamins and minerals, alternative treatments. The plot then goes on to explain the workings of the health and medical system, as well as a personal story and the development of Ron Woodroof.
I did have high hopes for this one and while it didn't disappoint me at all, it wasn't the great movie I wanted it to be. However, there is enough greatness in there to make Dallas Buyers Club a good film.
The acting is just unbelievably good in this movie. Matthew McConaughey yet again puts in a committed performance as this guy Ron, who at first you don't quite see "eye-to-eye" with, but as the story progresses you begin to warm to the likeable guy he is. This performance from him is so good that he could well go and win the Best Actor category come Oscar night. He has stiff competition, but a performance as compelling and believable as this will put him as one of the favourites.
Also, McConaughey's physical appearance completely sells and makes him more believable as this guy. Watching him you could completely tell that he has some sort of illness or something. Dallas Buyers Club, as mentioned before, does do exceptionally well at developing the main character of Ron Woodroof to the point where you watch the final scene of the movie and say to yourself, "That is a changed man".
The dialogue between the main characters is good as well. Jared Leto's convincing portrayal of transvestite Rayon was also a stand out for the film; this man seriously deserves some Oscar consideration and could also be a frontrunner for an Academy Award. Jennifer Garner is also terrific in the movie.
The acting and script is absolutely fantastic and the story, including the development of Ron Woodroof as a person, is very interesting to watch. But the film isn't perfect.
At times, the plot suffers issues with pacing through both ends of the spectrum. At times it can seem to drag on, at others it seems that the movie is trying to accelerate the plot too quickly.
There are a few tonal inconsistencies as well. Sometimes there will be transition between a light-hearted comical scene into a quite a dark one. This does happen a few times and it did bother me a fair bit. At times, Dallas Buyers Club wasn't really 100% sure about what it is trying to be in terms of its tone and at times it does wonder away from the tone it set out at the start.
I also feel as if the directing, while good, could have been better. The style of directing was very hand-held which didn't really work for me. If the directing had been more steady, it would have been better per my opinion.
The performances, let me reiterate, are outstanding and Dallas Buyers Club is a good movie. Expect a few nominations come Oscar night:
Rating - B
1 sentence summary - Flawed in a couple of ways, but the acting is out of this world!
I enjoyed it, but for me as a whole the movie was never great for me.
Thanks for reading,
Matt
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