Set in the mid-1980s, Dallas Buyers Club concerns Ron
Woodroof, a homophobic electrician who contracts HIV presumably from sharing a
needle with an infected man while shooting up.
The script, which had been floating around Hollywood for years, from
Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack, relays his innovative approach to dealing with
his illness when he hits a brick wall with his traditional options. When he can’t obtain the treatment and
answers he wants, and sees that trial drug AZT may be more harmful than not, he
seeks out his own remedy in Peptide T.
Crossing borders and smuggling in large quantities, he uses his quest for
the truth and practical results, his smarts, and good charm, to provide a
temporary resolution for himself and others.
The script paints him as a bit of a reluctant martyr. While he is making money off of it, it
appears to be minimal, as there is never enough product to go around; he
sometimes dips into his own stash for others.
But, despite how virtuous he is or isn’t, the guy is still fighting for
his life. Along the way, he befriends salesperson
Rayon (played by Jared Leto), and enlists the help of a sympathetic doctor
(Jennifer Garner). The presence of
Rayon, as well as Woodroof’s social environment is where the protagonist’s shortcomings
are most highlighted.
The script isn’t the only thing set in the mid-to-late
1980s; so is Woodroof’s mindset, which is, mind you, tricky to capture authentically
for today’s more discerning audiences.
His anti-gay views are pretty cliché, and a slight softening of his
heart towards those unlike him become predictable, if not completely overcooked. Yet, the broadness of their homophobia is a still
a little over-the-top. When a character
threatens another who has taunted him, he responds, “Neh, I wouldn’t wanna get
none of that faggot blood on me.” Upon
Ron receiving a hug from Rayon, “Tooth fairy, if we weren’t in a public place
right now, your teeth would be so far down you throat you’d be usin’ your ass
to chew food.” But, on the other hand,
the screenwriters do a great job of capturing the queeniness of some random
gay characters. When an audience member
at an information meeting is told how long until AZT is ready, somebody shouts,
“We’ll be dead by then.” Caution is
encouraged and thalidomide is cited as an example of rushing matters, which
resulted in “flipper babies.” Another
responds, “We aren’t having babies.”
While the circumstances were dire and nothing to laugh about, gay men
can always be counted on for their ironic mix of seriousness and camp, which
this script admirably attempts to recreate.
The story also delves into the politically incorrect with other
minorities. A hospital orderly mops the
floor and swipes Ron’s shoes in the process.
“Hey Taco, you mind?” I suppose
it’s offensive, but it’s just so ridiculous, I can’t help but chuckle at some
of these lines, which capture the foul-mouth language of the times and this
pig-headed character.
Eve, the doctor, is there as a device to reaffirm Woodruff’s
sexuality. If audiences are put off by the
rather limited affection he expresses towards Rayon—an MTF transsexual—they can
certainly take solace in his love for the ladies (/sarcasm). The only problem for the screenwriter is the
ick factor that it would elicit in the more close-minded, so while Woodroof may
pine for Eve, thanks to the script, his disease will always keep him at an
arm’s length from romance. This comes with its own baggage of mixed
messaging—it’s okay to empathize with the guy, but God forbid his love should
go unrequited.
The early reviews have reported there being a conceit in the
film used to remind audiences every so often of just how long the main
character has had the disease. So, it’s
a race-against-time David vs. Goliath drama very much in the vein of Norma Rae
and Erin Brockovich. There are elements
which stuck out for me, like, at one point, Rayon visits her disapproving
father for money, and we see her give it to Woodroof dressed in a men’s business
suit. I was also in disbelief at how naively
the script handles the initial diagnoses.
When Woodroof finds out he has not only HIV, but full-blown AIDS, he
expresses surprise. The story has just
begun, but someone with such a low T-count as Woodroof at this point, along
with the weight loss, would have to know that something was the matter with
them, and it wasn’t just a head cold.
While HIV/AIDS is disproportionately prevalent in the gay
community, the story challenges the stereotype that it’s a gay disease. By focusing on a straight man’s fight for his
life and a remedy to manage his illness, it stands the chance of reaching a segment
of the audience that wouldn’t normally open themselves up to a story as this.
Woodroof symbolized the American can-do spirit of facing adversity in a
situation and using all his wits to come up with a workable solution that
represented a growing phenomenon of these buyers clubs spreading across the
country to serve a desperate group of people who had no where else to
turn. The healthcare system and the
government were of no immediate help—even the contrary—during a very dark
chapter in the United States. Rather
than capitalism spurring competition and growth, it stifled ingenuity and
rather possibly poisoned its populace.
Woodroof had to look outside the political and national boundaries.
Of course, it is just one man’s story—albeit a very unique one. The truth is that the long-game of dealing
with how HIV/AIDS affected the United States medically and economically is much
more complex and, naturally, can’t be told in a two-hour movie. While there have been movies that have dealt
with AIDS, they have mostly been fictional dramas about the emotional toll on
one or a few characters and their friends and family, like Longtime Companion
and Philadelphia, not really the fight to how the U.S. has got to a place where
it has managed the disease and perhaps come close to finding a cure, and the
grassroots movement that help make it happen.
In fact, there really hasn’t been anything outside the documentary
world; the recent We Were Here and How to Survive a Plague come to mind. So, it goes without saying that this film
will ruffle the feathers of some of the activist segment of the gay
population. It will also be courting
controversy with its hardline stance against AZT, as well as perhaps its
portrayal of Burroughs Wellcome, the research firm behind the drug (which
greatly benefitted from it financially).
Oscar Prospects
After my write-up on Focus Features last week and hearing
some of the early reviews, I got bullish suddenly on Dallas’ chances. However, the aggregate sampling of critics
coming out of Toronto, actually have it much lower than a lot of other major
Oscar contenders like 12 Years a Slave, Gravity, Philomena, Rush, and
Prisoners, so that puts me back to being skeptical. Obviously, Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto
are in play. Can it get in with
script? I’m unsure. It’s not bad, and, if true about its
assertions about AZT, etc, quite educational and does a decent job about explaining
the politics behind its approval. But,
it’s going to require a huge push to make it into what might be the most
competitive category this season, Original Screenplay. But, if it makes it in there, and conjures up
more than a ripple at the box-office, it will slip into Best Picture,
especially if McConaughey ends up being the eventual winner. This much is true: while distributor Focus
Features hasn’t offered the strong award contenders its spun into play in the
early-to-mid aughts (The Pianist, Lost in Translation, Brokeback Mountain), it
does do well with gay-themed or “gay-adjacent” films (Milk, The Kids Are All
Right). And, also consider: in the last
eleven years, the distributor has accumulated fourteen screenplay
nominations. Not too sha-bay!
Matthew McConaughey > Jared Leto > Original Screenplay > Picture > Director > Score
Plot Summary (Spoilers)
Movie opens with Rock Hudson boarding a flight to Paris to
receive treatment for his HIV/AIDS.
Electrician Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey) places bets with his
grease monkey friend Clint (J.D. Evermore) at the rodeo. He reassures his nervous friend TJ (Kevin
Rankin), who is about to ride a bull. TJ doesn’t stay on for more than three
seconds. Gamblers start looking for the
losing Ron, and a cop Tucker pulls him over and arrests him. At the oil fields with TJ and Clint, Ron
exhibits a vicious hacking cough. A
foreman warns Ron about drinking on the job.
A drunken Ron causes an accident, which nearly blinds him and sends him
to the hospital. When the examining
physician Dr. Butson leaves the room, Ron steals some candy. The physician returns with two others, Dr.
Nathan Sevard and Dr. Eve Saks (Jennifer Garner), who inform him that he has
contracted HIV, and with an incredibly low T-cell count, he has moved onto full
blown AIDS. “I ain’t no faggot, I’m a
rodeo,” is his response. He’s given one
to two months to live. He physically
threatens one of the doctors and then parties with TJ and some girls later that
night. He admits to TJ that the doctors
told him “I got the AIDS,” but says it’s probably a mistake. TJ takes the girls dancing and refuses to
shake Ron’s hand before he leaves. That
night, Ron dives into quarry filled with water.
At a sports bar, Ron catches Frank Young on the news discussing
AZT, before the channel changes to a baseball game. He reads up on the drug at the library. At Burroughs Wellcome Pharmaceutical
Headquarters in North Carolina, Dr. Sam Broder from the National Cancer
Institute meets with David Berry, VP of research, who thinks AZT is too
dangerous and untested without enough market potential. Broder’s impassioned speech convinces Berry
to change his mind. Ron does more
research at home. Berry meets some
executives to push forward on the AZT trials, as they’ll get a tax break from
the government. The underfunded FDA
research lab, headed by Dr. Anthony Fauci turn their entire attention to the
drug. Ron, suffering from an assortment
of ailments, goes to the hospital. When
he starts to get rowdy, Eve puts him in his place. Later, she sits with him and explains that
Sevard works for Burroughs Wellcome, who pays the hospital to run the
trials. Protocol dictates that not all
those accepted into the programs would receive AZT, but a placebo instead. “You give dyin’ people sugar pills?” He brings up other options available in
foreign countries that work and are non-toxic.
Unfortunately, they’re not FDA-approved.
“Screw the FDA, I’m gonna be DOA.” After his anger subsides he tells the doctor,
“You sure are easy to look at.”
At the bar that night, Clint makes gay jokes at Ron’s
expense. Ron leaves and goes to Draddy
auditorium, which is hosting a support group for patients dealing with the
disease per Eve’s recommendation. FDA
administration director Richard Barkley is there to tell the hostile crowd
about AZT, which is still far off from being available. Ron starts getting AZT through the hospital
orderly. He pops two pills and gets
disoriented in a trailer park. He sells
all of his belongings. The orderly sends
him to Mexico.
At a telemarketing business, Rayon sells drugs over the
phone. Ron calls Eve and gets her
answering service. Rayon, who is one of
the top sellers, takes off for a doctor’s appointment. He meets with Eve, with whom he went to high
school with. She tries to convince him
to go on another trial. Eve calls Ron
later from home and happens to interrupt a suicide attempt. She takes him out for a beer. On his way to down to Mexico City, Ron tosses
old mementos out the window. He visits
Dr. Vass. Rayon joins Eve’s drug
trial. Vass explains that between the illicit
drugs and AZT, Ron has been killing his immune system. Over the next few weeks, Vass nurses Ron back
to health and educates him about Peptide T, along with other information. His car breaks down, so when he arrives in
customs at Dallas Airport, he’s pulled over by Barkley for having a 90-day supply
worth of drugs. He’s let go.
Ron surprises Eve with a visit at her home. An ill Rayon also arrives and after spouting
off some ignorant remarks, Ron offers to sell him some of his drugs. Against Eve’s wishes, he injects Rayon. After a few days, Rayon starts feeling much
better. At the hospital, Eve learns that
those receiving the AZT are losing blood, and that the trial period is over and
the findings were designated as positive.
Eve argues with Sevard about the AZT studies. Ron opens up a shop in an undesirable
location and Rayon agrees to clean the place up, “But get one thing straight, I
don’t do toilets.” A conference is held
at FDA headquarters with doctors and David Berry from Burroughs Wellcome. Dr. Itzhak Brook expresses skepticism about
releasing AZT for available prescription.
Frank Young with the FDA attempts to assuage his fears. A Mexican farmer Ron has hired smuggles Vass’
drugs across the border stuffed in the anuses of several sheep. He buys off patrolman Gerry Lander, who also
has AIDS. The driver meets Ron and
lawyer David Wayne in Laredo. Ron
extracts the drugs from the sheep. CNN
reports that Burroughs Wellcome will be selling AZT for an exorbitant price,
and it will soon be made available to anyone with HIV, thanks to the FDA. Ron and David part ways.
Business for Dallas Buyers Club is booming, but Ron is still
offended by Rayon’s way of dressing and talking. He threatens her with a gun as a couple Ian (Martin
Covert) and Michael (Rick Espaillat) walk in.
They are ready to get some Peptide T, which Ron will supply them for a
monthly membership fee, to avoid legal prosecution. Eve listens to Sevard prescribe AZT to
pregnant Martha Sandate who just received news that she’s HIV-positive. Eve walks into Ron’s Club looking for Rayon. Ron visits Francine Suskind (Jane McNeill) at
Belmont Laboratories, which manufactures Peptide T, but explains that it’s too
costly for them to afford getting the drug to the market. Ron gives her some drugs and cash.
Ron and Rayon go grocery shopping and squabble. They bump into TJ. Business continues to improve for Ron’s
Club. He tries to buy a Cadillac from
T-Rex and blackmails him to lower the price.
He travels to Hong Kong and meets with a doctor regarding a Chinese
cucumber-based drug. As Ron makes his
way through customs at Dallas, smoke begins to seep out of his suitcase. Agents tackle him, but he manages his way out
the situation by claiming to be a priest with a heart condition and requires
his medication be kept on dry ice. While
driving, he has an accident and is taken to the hospital where he’s questioned
by Tucker. Sevard and Barkley are also
in attendance. Ron rips the IV out of
his arm when he learns it includes a dose of AZT. Rayon bails Ron out of the hospital. Sevard questions Eve. She stops by the Club, and Ron informs her
that only gay men get KS due to the use of poppers, as well as the only ones
dying from AIDS are the ones who are heavy into drugs.
At the FDA, a secretary gives Dr. Fauci a report put out by
Dr. Peter Duesberg that HIV is not the cause of AIDS. Eve approaches Sevard about the report, but
insists that his hands are tied because Burroughs Wellness pretty much owns the
hospital for all intents and purposes.
Martha’s crying baby is hooked on AZT.
Ron sends Eve a red dress. He
helps Rayon administer his drugs. “I
swear, God sure was dressin’ the wrong doll when he blessed you with a pair of
balls.” His new secretary Gordon informs
him that the FDA and police have arrived.
They arrest him for unlabeled Aloe vera bottles. Eve has trouble finding someone with
documentation that HIV causes AIDS.
Ron’s lawyer David visits him in jail and lets him know there is a
$20,000 fine, as they can’t get him for selling drugs, because he only charges
membership. The FDA throws out his
supply, because it’s illegal to take unapproved drugs. Ron goes on a date with Eve. Good Morning America cancels its interview
with Duesberg. Instead, they put on
Fauci, who pushes AZT. Eve asks the
nurses for some information on the trial participants.
Ron books a room at the Dallas Marriot and opens up
shop. Sevard reprimands Eve for taking
patients off AZT. Barkley and Sevard
discuss the proliferation of buyers clubs across the country while skeet
shooting. The IRS harasses Ron. At a gay and lesbian conference, FDA Commissioner
Frank Young announces relaxing restrictions on the importing laws. Barkley pays Ron a visit. At a Hooters bar, Ron exchanges drugs for
money, and sends the cops a round of beers.
The Club is hurting for cash with the new law, and Ron and Rayon discuss
how to reinvent themselves. The drugs
were for Tucker to gives to his father who is suffering from Alzheimer’s. Gay couple Todd and Mark gift Ron a house to
run his business. Rayon visits her
father (James DuMont) at the bank for some money. Ron goes to Draddy Auditorium where he gives
an (Oscar) speech about what he can offer them.
Ron unsuccessfully looks for doctors who will write prescriptions for
his drugs and starts tearing down posters.
Rayon visits him dressed in a suit and hands him money. Ron enlists Eve’s help.
He flies abroad and watches Vass conduct an experiment in
the Yucatan Rainforest. Rayon’s friend
Sunny drives him to the hospital. Vass
shares with Ron how European scientists know AZT doesn’t work as presented by
“The Concorde Study.” Sevard tends to
Rayon in the hospital. After exchanging
hats at a campfire with a tribesmen, Ron enjoys the presence of thousands of
luminescent butterflies. Rayon prepares
to die.
Ron goes through customs at JFK and gets through with
forgeries from Eve’s prescription pad.
When Ron learns of Rayon, he goes straight to the hospital. He’s too late and threatens Sevard. Eve tries to calm him down, but he’s escorted
out of the hospital. Eve visits him at
the Club, where he has another (Oscar) moment.
T-Rex pays a visit. Martha visits
the club. Eve finally hangs the portrait
Ron gave her.
August, 1989, Fauci speaks to the press at The White House
and spreads more lies about AZT.
Burroughs Wellcome’s stock price goes through the roof. Ron continues to treat people, despite the
money problems. Ron starts a grassroots
campaign against AZT. Martha confronts
Sevard about her baby’s condition.
Sevard visits Barkley. Barkley
visits Suskind at Bellmont Labs and threatens to shut the place down. Pediatric trials of AZT have begun at Dallas
Memorial. Eve rushes to the Club, which
has been cut off by Bellmont. Ron visits
Suskind at her home where he learns that her son Jeremy has HIV. He buys some drugs for Gerghen Shotuck. Eve educates herself at the Club. Martha is served by child welfare for medical
neglect. Gerghen can’t give Ron more
drugs. Eve does some snooping at Dallas
Memorial. Ron confesses to her that he’s
short on supply. Ron discusses with his
lawyer David about filing a lawsuit. Ron
crashes an FDA public forum meeting and gives another impassioned (Oscar)
speech. “You’re all up there worried
that some sick people will find somethin’ without you and ya’ all won’t get
paid.” Ron sends Martha off from the
airport with a passport and money. Ron
visits Eve and shares his hopes and fears with her. He goes back to the Club. Eve begins to discreetly pass out flyers to
HIV patients at the hospital.
The FDA demands the police arrest Ron for dealing
drugs. Tipped off, Ron calls the
media. A news team captures the whole
bust complete with patients lying down hooked up to IVs. Eve takes Ron’s lawyer to the FDA to get
approval to prescribe Peptide T. Ron
learns the newspaper story cast an unfavorable light on him, not the FDA. Sevard and Eve argue and he asks her to
resign when she brings up the fact that he holds investments in Burroughs
Wellcome. Ron visits a pawn shop and he
begins to experience dementia again. An
officer tries to arrest Ron for disturbing traffic, but Tucker steps in. Later, he gives Ron some of his father’s
supply of Peptide T. David gives Ron a
letter that provides him with his own personal supply of Peptide T, which he
cannot resell. Ron and Eve play around
and then attend a rodeo. He actually
rides a bull and dislocates his shoulder before he’s thrown. TJ jumps from the bleachers and saves
him.
Normal
0
false
false
false
EN-US
JA
X-NONE
In 1991, San Francisco, Ron goes forward with his lawsuit
against the FDA. It doesn’t appear that
he has won anything greater than what the FDA has already offered him. People celebrate at the Club. He dies a year later. Roll credits.