Top Movies of 2013/14; #3 "Dallas Buyers Club"

Journal: February 2014

Google description... 

Ron Woodroof is an electrician and rodeo cowboy with a devil-may-care lifestyle who is blindsided with an H.I.V.-positive diagnosis and given 30 days to live. He quickly finds a lack of approved medications in the U.S. and crosses the border into Mexico where he learns about alternative treatments and begins smuggling them into the U.S. Ron finds an unlikely ally in fellow AIDS patient Rayon, a transsexual who shares Ron's lust for life and entrepreneurial spirit. They establish a "buyers club," where H.I.V.-positive people pay monthly dues for access to the newly acquired supplies. Deep in the heart of Texas, Ron's pioneering underground collective beats loud and strong as he fights for dignity, education, and acceptance.

My review... I cannot fathom what it must have been like to be a gay man in the 80's at the height of the AIDS epidemic. I also cannot fathom what it must have felt like to be a straight man pushed into that world; the world of the "other." 

"Dallas Buyers Club" does what few films do well. It puts you in their shoes. It forces you to walk a mile in those shoes. At the end of the journey, if you're a rational human being, you walk away with a new perspective. While you may never possess the empathy to truly understand their journey, basic sympathy should leave you questioning sexual identity, misconceptions about HIV/AIDS and the amazing strength people possess when forced to survive. 

That is what "Dallas Buyers Club" did for me. It was powerful, maddening and heartbreaking. At the end, you're left hopeful. You find hope in people's ability to change, adapt and survive. Some introspection, may even call into question your own abilities. Ultimately, this is what great movies are supposed to do. 

Thanks for entering my world, 

-Nathan