The Hypnotic Desperation of Dallas Buyers Club

 

There's just no getting around it - this is Matthew McConaughey's time. He's been a magnet for great roles lately, and he's disappearing into them with a fierceness that goes beyond convincing. Anyone who's seen his work on HBO's True Detective quickly sees that McConaughey's firing on all cylinders.

In Dallas Buyers Club, McConaughey finds a role that lets him showcase his abilities and strip them down to the raw, human core. Ron Woodroof is a rodeo cowboy who lives to get high and get laid - he's living in the moment and travels through life one shortcut at a time.

When he receives an 11th hour diagnosis of HIV, the wind leaves his sails with deafening abruptness. Staring both mortality and reality in the face for the first time, Woodroof determines to outwit the reaper the only way he knows how - by scheming.

Directed by Canadian Jean-Marc Vallée, Dallas Buyers Club does a remarkable job of putting us smack in the middle of the bleak landscape of 1985 Texas.  It nails the details and mood of the era and characters in a matter-of-fact way that's utterly convincing. American Hustle felt like it was hitting me over the head with "authenticity" in a way that never intrudes on you here. Vallée keeps things raw and unforced and it works incredibly well. The editing is remarkable and the supporting cast is amazing here. Jennifer Garner is compelling as a doctor with more empathy than her environment is ready for. Griffin Dunne is awesome - and unrecognizable, as one of Ron's educators in the school of post-diagnosis survival. Steve Zahn and the always excellent Kevin Rankin also turn in great performances.

But it truly is Jared Leto who astonishes here. He and McConaughey inhabit their roles with a mix of desperation and survival bravado that compliment each other unbelievably well. Their work together is heartbreaking and compelling. McConaughey takes Ron Woodruff from reflexive bigot to a man who actually begins to find enough compassion in his soul he wants to fight for the survival of others beyond himself. It's an amazing character journey. Parts of Dallas Buyers Club call up the DNA of Midnight Cowboy, which is meant as the highest compliment. But make no mistake - Dallas Buyers Club is an original. It captures the terrifying sense of apocalyptic terror in a small population the rest of the world barely notices. Woodroof's frantic research to extend his life runs afoul of the entrenched bureaucracy of the FDA - which Vallée paints as the kind of entity that will insist on waiting years for pharmaceutically marketable results, while those with a diagnosis have mere months. Dallas Buyers Club is hard to watch at times, but you won't want to miss a second. These are some of the performances of the year.