On the latest episode of Reel Shorts, the story of Texas electrician Ron Woodroof and his battle with the medical establishment and pharmaceutical companies after being diagnosed as HIV-positive electrifies in the drama, The Dallas Buyers Club.
Audio Review
In 1986 Dallas, homophobic, drug addicted party boy Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey) is diagnosed with HIV and is given 30 days to live. He starts taking the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved AZT, the only legal drug available in the U.S, which brings him to the brink of death.
To survive, he smuggles anti-viral medications from all over the world, which were still illegal in the U.S. Other AIDS patients seek out his medications forgoing hospitals, doctors, and AZT.
With the help of his doctor, Eve Saks (Jennifer Garner) and a fellow patient, Rayon (Jared Leto), Ron creates the Dallas Buyers Club, one of the dozens which form around the country, providing its paying members with these alternative treatments. The clubs, growing in numbers and clientele, are brought to the attention of the FDA and pharmaceutical companies, which waged an all out war on Ron.
Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée and starring McConaughey, Leto, Garner, and Steve Zahn, the film is based on the true-life tale of Ron Woodroof, who was the subject of a lengthy 1992 article in The Dallas Morning News written by journalist and author Bill Minutaglio.
Grade: A