Extremely accomplished awards bait
FILM REVIEWS Sarah Watt finds herself mesmerised by a gaunt Matthew McConaughey.
JEAN-MARC VALLEE, director of the underrated French film Cafe de Flore but probably better known for casting Emily Blunt as The Young Victoria, seems to be forging one of those eclectic careers exhibited by the likes of Michael Winterbottom and Ang Lee. Film-makers who tackle different genres for each project are to be applauded, and indeed Vallee’s first proper stab at Hollywood awards bait is extremely accomplished.
It helps somewhat that he lucked out in casting Matthew McConaughey in the lead role of Ron Woodroof, a boozing, womanising rodeo rider who was diagnosed as HIV-positive in the mid-80s, when AIDS was still a dirty word and ignorance was endemic (in the 20 years since the film was originally mooted, Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt have been eyed up for the role which now seems made for McConaughey).
Far from an ‘‘addiction drama’’, the film in fact charts Woodroof’s true-life story of a man given 30 days to put his affairs in order who instead decides to fight. Not just his personal battle – although McConaughey famously lost more than 20 kilograms for the role (he is so emaciated he has almost permanent dimples, and when people say ‘‘painfully thin’’ they convincingly female (or, at least, definitively not Leto) as Jennifer Garner’s comparatively plain doctor.
The story moves rapidly through a countdown of Woodroof’s last days, the grim opening transforming swiftly into a heartwarming, inspiring tale of an underdog with a purpose and bucketloads of chutzpah.
It reminds us of the horrifying prejudice routinely exhibited three decades ago, and makes us glad we’ve come so far. But above all, thanks to energetic camerawork and gutsy performances, it’s one helluva ride.