REVIEW - DALLAS BUYERS CLUB

You would know how long it took to bring the story of Ron Woodroof's battle against AIDS, or against the system, to the screen by the story itself. It's Grade A dramatic fodder, and director Jean-Marc Vallee approaches it as exactly that. His film is a respectful one, whose first concerns are to the people and their plight, and whose actors will spare nothing in doing them the service they deserve. And in this regard, Vallee the perfect choice to helm Dallas Buyers Club, as he has never been one to get in the way of good material. Woodroof is a dazzling character, if perhaps a tad too self-sure to make his tale a true tearjerker - the enormity of the task he sets himself and the remarkable good fortune he has in having such success for so long are almost taken for granted, so nimbly does Woodroof skip through them. He has the charisma, though, and the dialogue to keep your attention and your respect, or once it comes into focus that he's genuinely, organically overcoming his wild and wide-ranging prejudices. And Matthew McConaughey is a fine casting choice, since he is possessed of equal charisma and a terrific vocal tone; still, McConaughey doesn't rest on his ample laurels, producing a performance that truly compels, and feels indebted more to the gravity of Woodroof's struggle than to potential awards nominations, even if it actually isn't. He provides an otherwise drab film with bold streaks of bright colour. The screenplay is suitably coarse and quick-fire, and helps somewhat to prevent the film from settling too often into tired sentimentality and fustiness.