'Dallas Buyers Club' review by Captain Raptor
Well, Oscar night is upon us, and Dallas Buyers Club is hoarding more nominations that its protagonists hoards pills. It's interesting to see careers turn around to the extent that two of the most promising nominees for best acting awards are the stars of Chapter 27 and Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past. But let past transgressions be forgiven and grudges forgotten in a similar tale of redemption. Besides, both of them are practically unrecognizable in these roles, it feels like you're looking at different actors.
Matthew McConaughey is a genuine phenomenon in this film. He has moments of finely tuned subtlety and moments of totally unrestrained emotion. The latter are astounding yet all together far too brief, but he really commits to the performance and the result is astonishing, both in how believable it is and how emotive he is. He's almost matched by Jared Leto, immensely likable in a heart-breakingly tender turn. They both play AIDS sufferers, McConaughey an agonizingly gaunt redneck homophobe and Leto an overtly gay cross-dresser. Watching the relationship dynamic evolve between the two is mesmerizing, and they play off of each other excellently. They're well-rounded characters too, particularly McConaughey's lecherous, laid-back, cool and ignorant hustler, who's charming and sympathetic enough to be likable, but far from what you'd call a good person. It's a character that lends McConaughey plenty of opportunity to be both funny and moving, but while the character arc is engrossing, it does leave the film feeling somewhat incomplete - the first half is murky, dark, and morally ambiguous, while the film's second half is intense, emotional and more uplifting. All the desired elements are present and in working order, but they're not blended, meaning that at every given moment, something feels like it's missing.
The only major issue is this tonal imbalance, but there are a couple of small things that limited my enjoyment. Leto and Jennifer Garner didn't get as much screen time as I would have liked, there was a short sequence with moths that was both confusing and uncomfortable, and the film seems to purposefully vilify the entirety of the medical establishment. The story is nothing special, but nor is it in any way flawed or boring, and the same could be said of the majority of the film's secondary elements - soundtrack, cinematography, side characters (although Steve Zahn's police officer is well written and he even has his own miniature character arc). This sounds like it makes for mediocre viewing, but the whole film is geared around the main performances; every scene really just exists to showcase the talent of Leto and McConaughey, and occasionally the under-utilized Jennifer Garner.
Dallas Buyers Club could easily be the career defining film for its main cast. Between McConaughey's weighted outbursts and Leto's spot-on delivery, every minute of screen time is filled with somebody being brilliant. Beyond outstanding acting, there's not really much else of great value, but that alone is far more than enough to make Dallas Buyers Club an entertaining, subtle and affecting film.
The only major issue is this tonal imbalance, but there are a couple of small things that limited my enjoyment. Leto and Jennifer Garner didn't get as much screen time as I would have liked, there was a short sequence with moths that was both confusing and uncomfortable, and the film seems to purposefully vilify the entirety of the medical establishment. The story is nothing special, but nor is it in any way flawed or boring, and the same could be said of the majority of the film's secondary elements - soundtrack, cinematography, side characters (although Steve Zahn's police officer is well written and he even has his own miniature character arc). This sounds like it makes for mediocre viewing, but the whole film is geared around the main performances; every scene really just exists to showcase the talent of Leto and McConaughey, and occasionally the under-utilized Jennifer Garner.
Dallas Buyers Club could easily be the career defining film for its main cast. Between McConaughey's weighted outbursts and Leto's spot-on delivery, every minute of screen time is filled with somebody being brilliant. Beyond outstanding acting, there's not really much else of great value, but that alone is far more than enough to make Dallas Buyers Club an entertaining, subtle and affecting film.
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