7.5/10
Long-hyped on the basis of Matthew McConaughey's radical physical transformation for the role of Ron Woodroof, an AIDS victim who starts his own "buyers club" to get non-licensed and unapproved medicine to others dying of AIDS. At the very least, it delivers on that promise - McConaughey is excellent, and so gaunt as to be frequently unrecognizable. Jared Leto co-stars and is also just as good. Jennifer Garner is in the mix as well but seems out of her depth (trying on a Texan accent exactly once) - even her character feels like an odd fit in the film itself.
I found the movie struggled a lot with its rhythm. It seemed to have a hard time figuring out when to poke fun at the absurdity of the whole situation and when to treat it as serious as it was. As such, the movie never really hits the emotional heights it seems destined for and the tragedy and comedy rub against each other awkwardly rather than meshing as a cohesive feeling.
The pace is also frequently messy, jumping to include as much of Woodroof's (admittedly fascinating) story as possible.
I criticised it a lot but really Dallas Buyers Club is not a bad movie by any means - it's interesting, entertaining, and very well-acted. But it's hard not to feel like there's an even better movie somewhere in here, something that would rise above a merely entertaining showcase for its two talented lead actors.
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