Page 20 THE VILLADOM TIMES I & II • November 27, 2013 ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ recalls early days of disease by Dennis Seuling “Dallas Buyers Club,” based on actual events, is the story of rodeo cowboy Ron Woodroof (Matthew McCo- naughey) who, after an on-the-job accident, wakes up in the hospital and is told by his doctors (Jennifer Garner, Denis O’Hare) that routine blood work has revealed he is HIV positive and has only a month to live. Initially angry and denying the possibility that he could be infected, he eventually researches the meager medical information. This is the start of the AIDS epidemic and little is known about the disease. He discovers that there are medicines that have had positive effects on HIV and AIDS patients, but they have not been approved by the FDA and are not available in the United States. Based on his diagnosis, time is not on his side. Deter- mined to get what it takes to stay alive, Ron travels to coun- tries where the medicines can be bought, makes deals with suppliers, and brings the drugs back to the United States. This runs him afoul of customs, the FDA, the medical bureaucracy, and eventually the IRS. Despite these issues, Ron perseveres, finding loopholes and working around established laws. To defray his travel costs and other over- head, he begins selling the drugs to other desperate AIDS patients. McConaughey’s physical appearance is startling. He has made himself frighteningly thin to be believable as a man infected with the AIDS virus. This is alarming, but also an impressive indication of how immersed in his char- acter he is. Jared Leto and Matthew McConaughey in ‘Dallas Buyers Club.’ McConaughey conveys a striking arc in Ron’s behavior, as he initially badmouths the doctors who deliver the news of his condition, then delves into the medical literature to learn what he can about HIV and AIDS, and ultimately drops his previously homophobic attitude, while retaining an edgy disposition directed more to the establishment than to the many who crave hope. The actor has a meaty role as Woodroof, and it would not be surprising if he snared an Academy Award nomination for his work. Jared Leto makes quite an impression as the transgen- der character Rayon, who becomes a partner of sorts with Ron when she is able to find HIV-infected individuals who are eager to obtain the drugs no one else can provide. Leto plays Rayon as a tough cookie who is not especially fond of Woodroof or his homophobia, but sees in him a way for others to receive hope. Leto etches a moving characteriza- tion here, avoiding cliché or caricature. Garner is pleasant as Dr. Saks, a sympathetic doctor who must adhere to strict hospital and medical procedures, even when it means people will die. FDA drug approval takes a long time and time is in short supply for Ron and other HIV patients. Although she is an “enemy,” she is willing to acknowledge that Ron’s unorthodox methods have helped many who had lost hope and were merely waiting to die. The story takes place in the early 1980s, when people were dying of AIDS in staggering numbers even as scien- tists labored to find a cure or even a treatment to arrest the disease and prolong life. A common misconception was that only gay men were afflicted, and a few scenes in the movie address this as Ron’s friends turn away from him when they learn about his condition. Director Jean-Marc Vallee ably captures the era and its sense of helplessness, hopelessness, and despair in light of the emerging AIDS epidemic. A significant theme is the conflict between established medical protocols and the ability to get around them to secure unapproved drugs. The fact that people are dying in greater numbers every day gives the conflict urgency and allows Woodroof to emerge as a crusading champion of those who have no real voice and cannot afford to wait for long, laborious testing until drugs are approved. The FDA, designed to protect consumers, is unsympathetically portrayed as being more concerned with cozying up to drug manufacturers to push certain drugs. Rated R for strong language, “Dallas Buyers Club” takes viewers back to a time when young people were dying in large numbers. The movie presents Woodroof as an anti-hero -- a man with more than his share of flaws -- and makes clear how difficult bucking the bureaucracy can be, even when it’s a matter of life and death.