The story begins in 1985 with Woodruff enjoying a risky lifestyle of riding bulls, snorting cocaine, and hiring prostitutes. His entire world screeches to a halt, however, when he consults a doctor regarding his persistent cough and fainting episodes and learns that he is not only HIV positive, but is suffering from AIDS. Desperate for more time, he arranges to illegally buy the experimental drug AZT after he is deemed too ill to take part in a clinical trial. When AZT proves toxic to his immune system, however, he learns of other drugs being touted as potential cures around the world which are not available in the US. With the help a disgraced doctor he then begins smuggling these alternative treatments into the US. When his symptoms begin to improve he realizes the lucrative potential of his new venture and begins selling treatments to other desperate AIDS patients, beginning what becomes known as the Dallas Buyers Club. Through this enterprise he offers his fellow AIDS sufferers "all the drugs you could want" in exchange for the hefty price of $400 per month. While his motives are initially strictly financial, as time goes on he witnesses the ways in which the regulations of the FDA and the medical establishment are inflicting almost as much damage on patients as the virus itself. He then springs into action and embarks upon a one-man crusade to secure patients' rights to have a say in their own treatment.
Dallas Buyers Club is a film that is every bit as unconventional, innovative, and ultimately empowering as the man and movement that inspired it. The film perfectly captures the anxiety, desperation, and despair that permeated the atmosphere of the AIDS crisis with an unflinching honesty. Through its portrayal of Woodruff's struggle to treat his illness the film also raises vital ethical questions about modern medicine. Throughout the film, Woodruff and his associates are treated as criminals for trying to have a say in their own treatment, and essentially told that the medical establishment know best. As the story unfolds, however, his interactions with physicians and members of the medical and pharmaceutical industries consistently indicate otherwise. When he is first diagnosed with AIDS he is told that he has thirty days to live and instructed to "get your affairs in order" rather than provided with information about his illness or any alternative to passively accepting death. Similarly, when he raises concerns about AZT's toxicity his claims are dismissed in spite of the FDA and NIH's corroborating data. It is only when he travels to Mexico and receives treatment at the underground clinic of Dr. Vass that Woodruff is provided with what he needs to fight his illness; knowledge and hope. Throughout the film, the so-called experts characterize Woodruff as a reckless outlaw and even go so far as to refer to him as "a common drug dealer", but as he bluntly reminds them, it is these same experts who are knowingly providing terminally ill people with drugs that have the potential to cause irreparable harm. Even the judge presiding over his lawsuit against the FDA agrees that "If a person has been found to be terminally ill they ought to be able to take just about anything that they feel will help" before lamenting, "But that's not the law" when he is ultimately forced to rule in favor of the FDA. Ron Woodruff's struggles to determine his own treatment highlight the ways in which the pharmaceutical industry and government bureaucracy have all too often placed profits and prestige above patient welfare and denied countless people the right to maintain control over their own lives and bodies. While in recent years "compassionate use" or "right to try laws" have been implemented which allow terminally ill patients greater agency in their own treatments, these laws still require patients to obtain approval of their physician, the FDA, the company producing the drug, and their physician's institution. Although it has been nearly thirty years since his passing, Woodruff's story remains strikingly relevant as the debate over experimental drugs to treat COVID-19 rages, with patients once again caught in the political and bureaucratic crossfire.
The film transports viewers back to the height of the AIDS crisis thanks to the superb work of its cast. Jennifer Garner exudes girl next door charm in her portrayal of conflicted physician Eve Saks and makes a perfect foil to Denis O'Hare's callous Dr. Sevard. Jared Leto is a revelation in his nearly unrecognizable performance as Ron's unlikely business partner, drug addicted transgender AIDS patient Rayon. Leto's performance goes beyond his physical transformation, which is impressive enough, as he fully embodies Rayon with wit, world weariness, and aching vulnerability. Matthew McConaughey is a force of nature as Woodruff, combining his signature southern charm with a cool charisma worthy of Paul Newman and a vital, poignant, desperation. In his hands Woodruff's journey from self-absorbed bigot to renegade activist avoids typical cinema cliches and acts as an apt tribute to the man behind the movement.
In its depiction of Ron Woodruff's life and legacy Dallas Buyers Club relates a story that is nothing short of inspiring. Through its equal parts gritty and intelligent script the film aptly portrays the devastation that was the AIDS pandemic while raising moral and ethical questions that remain strikingly topical in today's health crisis. The uniformly superb work of the film's cast brings Woodruff and his colorful cohorts to vivid life and pays fitting tribute to the millions who were and continue to be impacted by HIV. For must see viewing join Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto in the Dallas Buyers Club.
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