Jean-Marc Vallée
Dallas Buyers Club

In 2014, AIDS seems like something distant, past, relegated to the '80s, almost a legend. But it is not. AIDS hasn't gone away. Today, more than 34 million people live with this terrible virus, and new infections occur by the hundreds every day. Despite its deadly impact, the epidemic has been almost ignored by cinema and television and too often represented in a superficial, stereotypical, distorted manner.

Why? Simple. Because talking about AIDS means talking about death, blood, sex, homosexuality, drugs, medical malpractice. Topics that don't mesh well with mainstream media and usually aren't well-received by the public. Now, I don't want to bore you with the history of AIDS representation in cinema and TV history, but I want to talk to you instead about a film recently released in theaters, Dallas Buyers Club.

It's the true story of Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey), a crude and homophobic Texas electrician who, in 1985, finds out from doctors that he has contracted HIV and has at most 30 days to live. Woodroof doesn't want to give up; he cannot resign himself to the prospect of imminent death. After illegally obtaining the antiretroviral drug AZT, he decides to go to Mexico, discovering the existence of alternative and more effective drugs for treating HIV/AIDS not approved in the United States. With the help of the transgender Rayon (Jared Leto), Woodroof starts trafficking alternative medicine, selling them to anyone who needs them and founding the Dallas Buyers Club. Jean-Marc Vallée's film is not easy. It has its flaws, its inaccuracies. Its protagonist is an anti-hero, a selfish and materialistic man with whom it is difficult to connect. His co-stars don't stand out; despite their skills, they are secondary characters, overshadowed by McConaughey's fabulous and imposing performance, having slimmed down and transformed himself. Dallas Buyers Club is not a great film, but it's not extraordinary. So, why talk about it? Because it is innovative. In a Hollywood where AIDS is a taboo, a word to be whispered, this film is candid and refreshing, stripped of the easy emotions and predictable tears of Philadelphia. I want to summarize my thoughts in five points.

Homosexuality/Heterosexuality: before being defined as AIDS in 1982 (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), the epidemic was called GRID, or Gay-Related
Immune Deficiency, since it appeared almost exclusively in homosexual subjects. Over the years, the reputation of AIDS as a gay cancer has endured and still remains. The media, which also have an informative purpose, have done little to change this idea. In nearly all films about HIV/AIDS, the patients are homosexual people. In Dallas Buyers Club, this is not the case; the protagonist is not only a white American but contracted the virus through unprotected heterosexual intercourse. The film also alludes to gay activist movements, an almost unprecedented feature in previous works.

Sex: sex abounds in the film, but only heterosexual sex. I think a sexual relationship between a positive and a negative individual would have been extremely innovative. It would have challenged the idea of the HIV patient as 'untouchable.' Unfortunately, after the diagnosis, Woodroof refrains from having sexual relations except for one with a positive girl. Condoms are not even mentioned. Pity.

Medical Care: If in Philadelphia Andrew had no issue accessing medical care, Woodroof is desperate upon discovering that he cannot obtain AZT. This is much more realistic. Furthermore, the film sharply criticizes the FDA and the pharmaceutical lobby for banning the use of other drugs outside of AZT and for conducting AZT's trials in an unclear manner.

Death Sentence: AIDS is, and especially was in the past, considered a death sentence. Boom, you test positive, your life is over, might as well give up. In Philadelphia, we witness Andrew's body rapidly decline; for him, there is no hope. Dallas Buyers Club instead seems to convey a message of hope. Woodroof is certainly thin, but he doesn't have KS lesions all over his body; he doesn't have a repugnant appearance. For 7 years after the initial diagnosis, he lives a difficult life, yes, but not like a living corpse, not relegated to a bed.
 

That's it. Sure, you could argue that the film is inaccurate and that the drugs Woodroof imported might have been useless. You can tell me that the film casts a shadow on AZT, a drug that has saved millions of lives. You can tell me that Jared Leto seems like a caricature or that McConaughey was much cuter when he did comedies with Jennifer Lopez.

You can say whatever you want; I don't think this film is perfect. I believe it is a small and admirable step towards a dignified, less stereotypical, and more truthful representation of this disease that should never be forgotten. NEVER.