A skeletal Matthew McConaughey is a fitting lead in the gaunt Dallas Buyers Club. Based, in part, on a real story, McConaughey plays homophobic, alcoholic, sexpot cowboy Ron Woodroof---a sinewy sonuvabitch who becomes diagnosed with AIDS in 1985 and is given 30 days to live. Unimpressed, Woodroof finds a semblance of health in Mexican drugs not yet FDA approved, setting up one of many "buyers clubs" which trade membership for medicine. Jared Leto, as Woodroof's business partner, will deservedly pick up some award nominations for his gut-wrenching waltz to the grave. As should Jennifer Garner, doing some of her best work in years as a troubled doctor watching her friends die due to indifferent legislators. Canadian director Jean-Marc Vallée keeps things lean, letting quiet cinematography sit in silence to McConaughey's angry activist. Dallas Buyers Club falls a little too often on big-versus-little clichés, but its an aggressively soulful picture that's hard to ignore.
