Dallas Buyer's Club

This is an important film, but also a flawed one.
Ron Wooduff (Matthew McConaghey) is a true Texan, with a gun in the back of his truck. He bets on bull riding, drinks like a fish, smokes like a chimney and has tons of unprotected sex. Imagine his surprise when he receives the diagnosis of HIV. He is furious and doesn't believe the doctors but sort of takes it seriously that he will die within thirty days.
He, in a chilling scene, has sex and does harder drugs, before finally doing some research. He illegally obtains AZT, but abuses the drug horribly and continues to drink and do other illegal drugs. You just might think that he will actually die within the thirty days, but he doesn't.
He lives, though barely. He does even more research and gets drugs to treat the systems of his disease from Mexico and, to earn more money, which he needs, sells them to others who need them. It is hard at first, because he is quite homophobic, not believing that Rock Hudson was gay. Finally, he strikes up a deal, albeit reluctantly with Rayon (Jared Leto), whom he met at the hospital. Rayon is transgender but knows people. It is because of him that Ron's business really takes off, though it takes him some time to truly respect Rayon.
Ron builds up his business, importing drugs illegally from all sorts of countries, including China, Japan and Denmark. He does his research and really knows his stuff. He scolds the doctors (Jennifer Garner and Denis O'Hare) to continuing to give patients the drug AZT which has nasty side effects but is approved by the FDA. All the drugs Ron gives his clients aren't approved, but the patients seem to do better.
Soon, his business is thriving. It is called the Dallas Buyer's Club. People buy memberships at four hundred dollars per month which gives them all the drugs they want.
Of course Ron runs into legal trouble tons of times. He gets audited by the IRS and his supplies are seized by the FDA, so he sues them. But the judge dismisses the case though he feels for Ron. He feels that those who have a fatal disease should be able to put whatever they want into their bodies, but he has no legal backing so he can't do anything about it. Nevertheless, Ron is greeted like a hero.
Now, though the plot has holes, extremely rough transitions, the acting shines. Ron turns from a homophobic, ignorant freak into a compassionate, well-educated man. But Rayon shines. The scene where he returns to men's clothing to meet with his father is touching as is the scene where he is near death, sobbing to his lover that he doesn't want to die. Yet, he still took illegal drugs until just before his death. The problem is Jennifer Garner's character, Eve Saks. She is also sympathetic with Ron's plight but can't do anything to help her because she doesn't want to lose her license. The screenwriters aren't sure what to do with her character. At times, it is like they want to use her as a love interest for McConaghey, but are unsure of that step. She tries to help her trial patients, reducing the amount of AZT they are given and refusing to resign when the director doesn't like her actions.
Ron ultimately lives seven years after receiving his diagnosis, seven years longer than doctors thought he would. He made a difference. This film proved that the FDA doesn't always do the right thing or have the right process to doing things, and how breaking the law is sometimes the only way to survive.
Despite the importance of this film, character development is flawed. There needs to be more of a transition of Ron turning into an accepting person. And how does he actually build up his business? And what gives him that idea? How does he hear about the similar clubs in New York?
The acting, especially McConaghey and Leto, is fantastic. Both of them had to lose weight for these roles, which always gains points for me. Leto is so utterly believable as a transgender person and my heart just broke for him as he admits that he doesn't want to die, also when he answered his father's line of "God help me." Rayon's response? "He is, I've got AIDS." It is just heart-breaking. McConaghey finally has a good role and he knows what to do with it, showing every expression in his thin, weary face. It is also funny when he has sex with the first woman who comes into the headquarters.
I just wish this film was better. But it shows how people truly lived, grimy and all. It showed how people viewed HIV in the mid-1980s, looking scornfully upon those who contracted the deadly illness.
Ultimately, the film covered too much time in too short a time frame and that is just a shame. Grade: A-