Dallas Buyers Club

Although it’s based on events that took place almost 30 years ago, Dallas Buyers Club resonates with immediacy.

It almost seems ripped from today’s headlines, dealing with relevant issues such as access to healthcare, the pharmaceutical industry, medical ethics, corporate greed and related bureaucratic red tape.

With audacious performances and a refreshing lack of sentimentality, the film chronicles the desperate efforts to find treatment during the height of the AIDS epidemic, by patients facing resistance from federal regulators and a stigma from the general public.

One of those men was Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey), a womanizing drug addict who in 1985 didn’t fit the public perception of the average AIDS patient. Nevertheless, the Dallas electrician became defiant after being given 30 days to live.

He didn’t respond well to AZT, which at the time was the only approved treatment in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration. So Woodroof hit the black market, smuggling in drugs from other countries without the knowledge of his doctors, save for a specialist (Jennifer Garner) who becomes his ally.

The treatment improved his short-term health, and after learning of other patients, including a transsexual (Jared Leto) with the same issues, Ron opened a business from a hotel room and the trunk of his car, providing illegal drugs for patients who were both frustrated and running out of time. His Dallas Buyers Club became a model for other such operations around the country that were targeted by federal authorities.

Woodroof becomes an unlikely hero for the oppressed, and a reluctant crusader for tolerance, in this story of people with differing lifestyles and political views coming together for a common cause.

McConaughey’s terrific performance includes a remarkable physical transformation, as he finds a sympathetic side to a boorish and unlikeable character without sugarcoating or trivializing his plight. The same goes for Leto, whose portrayal celebrates life in the face of overwhelming sadness.

Meanwhile, Canadian director Jean-Marc Vallee (The Young Victoria) and his team bring authenticity to their period re-creation both in terms of setting and attitude, even when the screenplay takes some minor formulaic detours.

Dallas Buyers Club makes an intriguing companion piece alongside How to Survive a Plague, an excellent 2012 documentary that takes a different angle on the same subject. It’s an unsettling but provocative examination of grassroots activism that provides a fascinating glimpse into recent history.

Rated R, 117 minutes.