Release: 11/22/2013
Genre: Drama
Length: 117 minutes
Rating: R
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Jared Leto
Director: Jean-Marc Vallee
Writer: Craig Borten & Melisa Wallak
I'm sitting with my family on a Sunday afternoon watching a hysterical Ron Woodroof scream at a physician that has just given him thirty days to live. So begins the saga of Woodroof's battle with AIDS, his doctors, the drug companies and our government. This movie is sure to be a total downer but its the holidays. What better way to spend it than with your family, watching the story of a struggling AIDS patient.
The cast has caught my eye. McConaughey has elevated what I thought was a 'take it or leave it' acting career to plug out some memorable performances and this I quickly decide is his best yet. It's hard to watch McConaughey directly. His body is sickly thin leaving him barely recognizable. He devours booze and cocaine with cheap prostitutes in his trailer.
As the plot unfolds we are introduced to trans-gendered Rayon who Woodroof reluctantly enlists as a business partner in his efforts to obtain and distribute AIDS medications. An equally sickly Rayon is played by actor-musician Jared Leto. My recent memories of Leto are that of Thirty Seconds To Mars front man, standing on a building dressed from head to toe in white. Always with a flare for the dramatic Leto is not just pulling off the role of Rayon, he's crushing it.
You may find yourself wondering how someone could write such a story? Well, they didn't. Nothing is as entertaining as real life, right? A word to the wary: if post-apocalyptically thin bodies, excessive drug use with a side serving of sex is too disturbing put this one on the back burner until you grow a pair. If you can keep your shit together this movie has an entertaining (albeit depressing) plot featuring some first rate acting.
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