Dallas Buyers Club

Based on true events, this gritty, frail man-against-the-system drama stars Matthew McConaughey as electrician and bull-riding rodeo cowboy Roy Woodruff, a Texas redneck bigot who openly mocks homosexuals—at least until 1985, when he learns that he's HIV-positive. Stunned by the diagnosis, Roy refuses to believe the doctors (Denis O'Hare, Jennifer Garner) who say he only has 30 days to live. Proclaiming, “I ain't no dang queer,” Roy balks at participating in a double-blind AZT trial at Dallas Mercy Hospital, afraid he'll be given a placebo. So he buys AZT illegally, only to discover that it makes him worse, especially since he also chain-smokes, guzzles booze, snorts cocaine, and gulps methamphetamines. Conducting extensive research, Roy discovers an unorthodox doctor (Griffin Dunne) at a Mexican clinic offering alternative drug treatments and he starts a smuggling operation into Dallas. With the help of an unlikely friend named Rayon (Jared Leto)—a transsexual druggie—street-smart Roy organizes a “buyer's club” for HIV-positive/AIDS-infected members, who pay $400 monthly dues for Roy's unauthorized supplies, as opposed to the $10,000 annual charges from pharmaceutical companies for AZT. That success leads rebellious, resourceful Roy to visit Japan, China, and the Netherlands, searching for new AIDS drugs, despite attempts by the FDA, DEA, and IRS to shut him down. Grittily helmed in a minimalist style by Jean-Marc Vallée, Dallas Buyers Club is most memorable for McConaughey and singer/musician Leto's convincing, complex, Oscar-nominated performances (and astonishing physical transformations) in this desperately sad yet redemptive character study. Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include deleted scenes (5 min.), a behind-the-scenes featurette (4 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are bonus DVD, digital, and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a decent extras package for one of 2013's best films.] (S. Granger)