From Netflix:
Loosely based on true events, this drama follows Ron Woodroof, who refuses to accept he’ll die in 30 days when he’s diagnosed with AIDS in 1986. He extends his life and eventually helps many other AIDS patients by smuggling medications from abroad.
Repulsive! At least that was my first impression of Ron Woodroof who throughout the film is always “in your face”. His unbridled lifestyle of drugs, alcohol, and prostitutes leads to full-blown AIDS. He then spent the rest of his life (which was much longer than the doctors foresaw) smuggling medications from wherever he could. Along the way he eventually accepts as a friend a cross-dressing male prostitute despite the fact that Woodroof is portrayed as virulently homophobic. Also he eventually finds a helper and friend in a woman doctor from the local Dallas hospital.
My criterion for a good actor is one that is a true cameleon, that is to say, can adapt to many different parts. In my opinion, Matthew McConaughey has achieved cameleon-hood. Let’s hope he did not injure his health losing so much weight in order to look like a scrawny AIDS patient.
Be sure to consult the Wikipedia article which at the end contrasts the film plot with the true story.
If you don’t mind a view of America’s low life culture, in view of McConaughey’s performance, I call this a DO NOT MISS!
Bev, Ross andI totally enjoyed this film. McConnaughty was brilliant, but so was Jared Leto, who won an Oscar for his role. If you haven’t wathched the 90s series called “My so called Life” that he stars in with Clair Danes, it is worth wathching the development of two teen stars who blossom into their later adult roles. I take qulaified issue with your charaterizations of McConnaughty as a “low life”. We in the the liberal northeast have problems understanding and connecting with the lives of those who dine at Denny’s and like their Jack Daniels. But, America has more of them than us, which is why it is imortant to try to understand the charactiers that this film portrays.
Ha – Mike, you hit it on the head. Embrace the diversity! Reminds me of the old Pogo classic: “We have met the enemy and he is us.”
We really enjoyed this as well – great acting and characters.