Review: DALLAS BUYERS CLUB

Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto had huge boosts for their Oscar chances when they pulled-off winning at the SAG Awards. We hadn't review their film because it hadn't arrive to our theaters. It has now. Here's our review of 'DALLAS BUYERS CLUB'.

By Denisse Ayala and Edgar Perez, Editors in Chief.

One at a time, we are checking movies off our must-see list before the Oscars. This past weekend we finally got to see one we had been waiting for since last May. Contrary to other flicks we've seen in recent days, this one left us wanting to come and share our thoughts on it.

The story tells us about 'Ron Woodroof', played by Matthew McConaughey, a Texas cowboy during the 70's. He is a drug, sex and wild-bull riding addict.

After he suffers an accident at work and is thus sent to a hospital, his doctors inform him that after running some blood tests, he has the HIV virus. Ron, like every cowboy during that time, denies any involvement with homosexuals. After digesting the news, he decides to investigate on ways to get infected with the virus and his findings let him know that it was no doctor mistake, he is in fact a carrier and will die very soon because of it.

Desperate, he asks his doctors to include him on the study for the new drug 'AZT', which has shown improvement on HIV patients. During a stay at the hospital, he meets 'Rayon', played by Jared Leto, a transsexual with severe drug addiction problems.

When Ron feels the drug isn't helping him, he seeks for help elsewhere. Destiny will send him to an American Doctor with an office in Mexico, who will prescribe him a different dose of medications that could put his life at risk.

Analysis and opinion:

We don't want to ruin the film with spoilers; hence we will leave the plot to the story for you to find out as you watch the movie. Don't worry though; our synopsis doesn't cover even half the storyline.

In technical aspects, the cinematography is grainy and yellow-toned which provides for a sense of desperation and goes well with the typical color used in films for the time period. The editing is superb- every sequence is loaded with details that expand the emotions portrayed by the players.

Jean-Marc Vallée, the film's director, does everything the picture needs at all times. He knew exactly how to do every sequence and situation, as well as the direction needed by each one of his main actors so they could play their characters the best possible way.

The movie is incredibly interesting. The main plot are the troubles and difficulties that Ron had to deal with the HIV virus, but on a deeper level and, to some extent, of even more importance is the world of prescribed drugs, the thousands of lives affected by the virus and their fight with the FDA to speed-up their processes.

Anyway, getting back on the Awards issue, both McConaughey and Leto provided us with UNBELIEVABLE performances that were really top-notch. They put everything they have on their characters both mentally and physically. On. Every. Single. Sequence.

If even one of them loses out at the Academy Awards, it will be the steal of the century.

Great movie that didn't let us down, quite the contrary, it left us fully satisfied and if it wasn't for a rookie technical mistake and a plot-hole, we would have definitely gave it a perfect score.