Review: Dallas Buyers Club a.k.a. DBC
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| This Is Infamous |
Every once in a while, like every few years or so, a film about HIV or AIDS comes along. I think every generation has its own AIDS movie. Probably to remind the youngsters about the dangers of unprotected sex.
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Focus Features/Truth Entertainment Wait, a priest with AIDS? |
This year, both acting Oscars for male actors go to Messrs. Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto, in the lead and supporting roles, respectively, of the low-budget screen gem Dallas Buyers Club.
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Focus Features/Truth Entertainment Jared Leto's first appearance in this film. |
There’s a term that relates to the Academy’s loves for HIV/AIDS roles: Oscar-baiting. Although far as I know, Tom Hanks’s 1993 Oscar for Philadelphia was the last win for an AIDS-infected role (despite the 90s being the golden age of gay movies). Nominations, I’m not sure. Anyway, it all boils down to the richness of the character. If you’re at an age right now when people you actually know have been infected with HIV, you’ll know how much drama they’re going through.
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Focus Features/Truth Entertainment And the award for Best Actor in a Leading Role goes to... |
I think it was Robert De Niro who popularised method acting that involved weight gain, blowing up sixty pounds for his role in Raging Bull. It was Christian Bale, however, who popularised the weight-loss method. He went a bit overboard in The Machinist, but he brought home the Oscar for The Fighter. And now, McConaughey and Leto have taken a page out of Bale’s book. The gaunt faces of two Hollywood heartthrobs are evidence of just how much these two love their craft. They truly deserve their accolades. None of their co-nominees even comes close. Sorry, Leo.
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| "Don't worry. You'll win it next year." |
Dallas Buyers Club. USA. 2013.
Original rating: 7.8 / 10
Matthew McConaughey's acting: + 0.2
Jared Leto's acting: + 0.2
Heaviness of the topic: - 0.1
New appreciation for HIV-positive people: + 0.1
Final rating: 8.2 / 10
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2 comments :
McConaughey and Leto were amazing in this. I also agree about the DiCaprio thing - people always seem to complain about him not winning an Oscar yet, but they fail to acknowledge the competition he's been up against.
I think what sucks here is that Leo was seemingly being groomed all these years, and then we have McConaughey suddenly swoop out of nowhere to take the golden statuette. Hehe.
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