The craft of acting is based on the performer’s ability to transform. An actor renounces to his own personality to inhabit the character’s skin. After watching Dallas Buyers Club (ISA: Voltage Pictures, U.S. Focus Features) , it is hard to think of any performances this year that exemplify that basic principle of the dramatic craft better than those inJean-Marc Vallée’s latest work. Losing weight was just the beginning of the road for Matthew McConaughey andJared Leto. The physical fragility both their bodies exude allows them to fully become their broken characters from the inside out.
McConaughey plays real life hustler turned savior, Ron Woodroof, a Texan electrician that carries himself with overconfident machismo. He is fond of liquor, drugs and the company of women and fancies himself an undefeatable tough guy until he falls ill for no apparent reason. But once at the hospital the tests results are brutal. Diagnosed with HIV, he is given no more than 30 days to live, a prognosis that doesn’t sit well with the rebellious cowboy. This is 1985, and under the assumption that only homosexuals contracted the virus, all of his friends outcast him leaving him to die alone. However, he is not ready to die, and although unable to partake in the clinical trials for the promising drug AZT, he acquires it illegally. Still, the benefits are minimal and his health continues to deteriorate, so in an effort to prologue his existence and with nothing to lose, Ron decides to grab life by the horns. The perennial anti-hero embarks on a trip to Mexico to bring antiviral medication unapproved by the FDA in the U.S.
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