Dallas Buyers Club

Synopsis:

In mid 1980s Texas, electrician Ron Woodroof is starting to learn that he has AIDS. Though told he has just 30 days left to live, Woodroof refuses to give in to despair. He seeks out alternative therapies and smuggles approved drugs into the US from where ever he can find them. Woodroof joins forces with a fellow AIDS patient and begins selling the treatments to the growing number of people who can’t wait for the medical establishment to save them.

Quick Thoughts:

“Dallas Buyers Club” is an award-winning queer biography film with both Matthew McConaughey & Jared Leto taking home Oscars. McConaughey won for his portrayal of real-life AIDS patient & Dallas Buyers Club founder, Ron Woodroof, while Leto won for creating the fictional character of Rayon which brought to life many actual real life AIDS patients and helpers. And what a performance! However, the film’s powerful message comes from many angles.

To start, Ron Woodroof was a very straight, homophobic cowboy who contracted HIV from unprotected sex and drug usage. Having a mainstream film portray a cis white straight male alongside a transwoman (albeit a tad too stereotypical for both characters) brought wider attention to the actual issues of the mid-1980’s when people were dying from HIV/AIDS – and the FDA was reticent and even blocked efforts of those trying to help. Woodroof’s personal battle with the FDA and the courts helped pave way for many of the treatments that actually work. Regardless of their Oscar-winning performances, “Dallas Buyers Club” is an important queer biography film that every LGBTQ person should watch!