Yes, No, Maybe So: Dallas Buyers Club
Tuesday, August 27, 2013 at 7:25PM 
We've been waiting for this one. Jean-Marc Vallée's biodrama about rebel cowboy Ron Woodroff who started an illegal drug ring for AIDS victims in the 80s has long had Oscar buzz for the emaciated slip of what was once Matthew McConaughey but now we can put the buzz to the test with the trailer. Let's break it down into Yes No Maybe So categories. As we do. All right All right.
YES
The cast first. At the very least one feels that a ticket purchase for this movie might help Matthew McConaughey on his road to recovery. He's been pushing himself with such commitment into the actor everyone wanted him to be right after A Time to Kill but which he never became until now. We owe him a thank you meal! Jared Leto looks amazing in his brief snippets as Ron's liaison with the gay community who were hit the hardest by the plague in the 80s. It's nice to see Jennifer Garner loosed from Ben Affleck's arm for a couple of hours.
Newsflash for y'all. There aint nothing that can kill Ron Woodroff in 30 days."
The story sure looks compelling in this well cut trailer. There's lots of room for McConaughey to show off and as an actor, that's kind of what he does best, right? That moment where Matthew as Ron falls to the ground and the moment when he cries look gut wrenching in the good way.
Plus C.R.A.Z.Y., Canada's Oscar submission in 2005, showed that Jean Marc Vallée was a director capable of harnessing great chaotic rock n roll energy into compelling personal journey cinema
NO
The Young Victoria, which won Oscar nominations in 2009, suggests that Jean Marc Vallée gets a little duller when he's aiming for the prestige market with personal journey cinema. (But then, who doesn't?)
Jared Leto waits for drugs
An unfair "No" aside: No matter how great the true story is, I don't particularly relish yet another civil rights struggle story being coopted to honor yet another brave white straight person. Yes, I know it's a medical drama / biographical film rather than a gay drama but given the way AIDS spread into an epidemic due to governments ignoring it during its infancy as a minority problem, a "gay cancer" as they put it, the topic will be inextricably linked to the gay struggle in history. I have reason to believe this will eventually change given that we've seen a few historical dramas recently which were told from the point of the view of the minority (The Help, mostly, and The Butler and Milk) but for the first century of film this was largely not the case and we always had to look at history and breakthrough triumphs for minorities through a heteronormative white prism.
MAYBE SO
In all the descriptions of the story, Ron Woodroff is described as a homophobe and there is room to explore this in an interesting way without cheaply praising him, as some movies do with their jerk heroes for making baby steps towards being a better person (Philadelphia arguably had problems with this with the Denzel character). Let's hope Jared Leto and his film friends are portrayed in a well rounded human way and that the "you sayin' I'm a homo!?" element and conflict is handled with surgical precision and not implicitly endorsed as
THE TRAILER
Are you a Yes No Maybe So ??? Let's take that question three times
1. On the movie?
2. On its Oscar chances?
3. On crazy weight loss/gain as shortcuts to acting glory? (i.e. should movie stars really risk their health this way when visual effects have come so far?)
Reader Comments (24)
1/no for the movie because i read the script and it was so-so for me
2/ Oscar chance for Mc Conaughey
3/ i have nothing when the actors risk their heath when it's not gimmick
on the trailer, i smell a "CONVICTION" (watchable,oscar baity and boring)
Jared Leto is quoted as saying"sometimes it's hard to hold on to the
water" re his dramatic weight loss
Anyone know what he means by that quote?
Time to bump Leto up on your Supporting Actor page. He pops out in this trailer in a big way.
I think this looks like more of a best picture contender than i thought. Early word is very good on the film and the performances. Yes i have heard amazing things about leto.
MIchael -- i added him to the third tier. I still maintain that it's hard for actors who've been around a long time without anything like "acclaim" to climb to a nomination no matter how good they are in something. BUT I also think he looks great in it so we shall see. He could catch a wave if the film catches on.
Josh -- i dont normally hope that a film catches on because i predicted it super early but because I did... haha
1.- Not sure. I've got issues with AIDS related movies. The whole thing still terrifies me.
2.- The only big problem could be Valée turning too auterish for this sort of drama, but right now its chances look better every day: true story + important social issue + personal project + long gestation...
3.- You said it. It's crazy and unnecessary. Good Makeup, costumes and lighting will do.
Well! That was way more interesting than what I was expecting! Seemed a lot warmer and a lot less pristine than what I expect from prestige fare. Excited for Jared Leto if this trailer is any indication. But then I don't know why I'm surprised. He has been pretty great in everything I've seen him in.
As for the weight loss, personally I find its more an aid for the actor than for the audience. I don't need Matthew McConaughey to be 140 for me to believe him as an AIDS victim, and I think it's irresponsible of directors to push their actors just for the sake of a slightly more authentic look. If an audience can forget that Christian Bale is Batman, they can forget for a couple hours what a drug addict looks like.
Your preaching to the choir. Ive waited six years for this film. I first heard about it when i was in high school when brad pitt was attached and went through hell the last three years wondering if it was ever going to get made. I think the homophobic element could be done very well because Vallee showed with C.R.A.Z.Y. that he know how to handle that topic. Actually i think that movie presents it the best. It reminds me of the type of movies they made in the 70's like midnight cowboy and dog day afternoon.
On another note. Vallee is usually great at making his characters seem fully fleshed out and real. It looks like the cast is up to the task.
Best actor could be MM vs DiCaprio, and MM could get a nonimation in supporting, too, becoming the winner there and leaving the lead category for his co-star. The narrative is there for both of them.
1) Yes. This is not a difficult decision, as I watch all kind of movies, so any movie is a yes to me. If not in the cinema (not sure if it will be shown in my country, what's with the gay and drug plotline, plus a drama which is not a huge draw here unless it has the little gold man on his poster), I'll eventually watch it in DVD.
2) Maybe, it's be big hit or big nothing. If it's a big hit it will be Picture, Actor and Screenplay. I'm not too sure about Leto and Garner, they have never been "familiar" names with the Oscar and you know they always nominate people repeatedly. So they'll nominate Amy Adams instead, in anything and everything. Remember how Cameron Diaz fail to secure a nomination? Jennifer Garner might have the same problem. If she has another good role next year or two they might welcome her to the club but maybe not this year.
3) I'm not sure about this, but Nathaniel do you have the stats on how many actors / actresses actually won with this trick? (Come on, I know you have the stats, you have all kind of Oscar stats this trivia is a piece of cake for you). I can only think of the most recent one being Christian Bale, and even he was only nominated once for such trick.
On the trailer, I feel good about it until the end part where everyone became very huggy, you hug me I hug you. I know it was supposed to be a happy ending where Mathew's character had a change of heart and touched everyone's life this sort of thing but to see all this hugging just feel not right. Maybe it's just me. I thought I was watching the trailer for The Blind Side.
Lol at PJ's Blind Side comment
I too feel like I could have issues relating to the heterosexual/homosexual thing. We'll see, I guess. I'm more excited for Leto than McConaughey.
I think Garner looks miscast would have preffered the unfaily maligned Hilary Swank who dropped out to co star with Meryl in The Homesman
Academy Award Winner Matthew McConaughey. Watching this, I can believe it. It's a yes.
I love your militant side. You rarely show it except showing your outrage against category fraud.
1. On the movie? Yes. Its a story that needs to be told. We are still being held hostage to politicians who won't get out of the way of health care (stem cell treatments anyone?). Yes for Leto who looks great. However, MM looks to be giving another MM performance, just body appropriate for the character.
2. On its Oscar chances? Depends on how treacly it gets. I see Leto getting the nod before MM. (I like MM, just not over the moon on this (only seen the trailer)).
3. On crazy weight loss/gain as shortcuts to acting glory? (i.e. should movie stars really risk their health this way when visual effects have come so far?) Its up to the actor. We all do things that we know we shouldn't because we want too (drink too much, rec pharms etc) so I'm not that up set about it. They're adults and have made a choice.
Nat, I look forward to your review.
I don't think your "unfair 'No' aside" is unfair in the slightest. I think you hit the nail square on the head. Here's what I had to say:
http://www.slantmagazine.com/house/2013/27/poster-and-trailer-drop-for-dallas-buyers-club-starring-matthew-mcconnaughey-as-homophobic-aids-patient
I've been anticipating this one for some time like many here -- through the Pitt years, and the Gosling years, right through these last twelve months of "will it get done and will it be done well" agony. I really love the playfulness alive in this trailer, I like that it's about virility and choosing life. The story seems to really be about characters who operate from a sense of positivity and abandon. I'm even more interested in the casting of Garner than I ever expected, not because she seems to be particularly dramatic or impressive in her brief moments here, but because that natural goodness and quirk seem to be as one with the kind of energy that Leto and McConaughey are bringing.
Man, does Leto look like he's going full out in this one. And his physical features, even in their sickly form here, really do pop -- he's gorgeous, ugh, those eyes are just such big swimmy saucers. And I'm just super excited by McConaughey here . I am excited that this isn't about him completely escaping into some other person, which probably isn't his strength as an actor, but it instead asks him to confront what would happen if HE were in this body and circumstances; it's the kind of thing Meisner-based acting was born for. I'm pumped.
As to the political concerns about the "gay" subplot, whenever we have had the history of HIV/AIDS presented in film, it is almost entirely been in the context of the gay community's experience of the disease. The truth of the matter is, that people need to accept and be informed that this disease wreaks havoc on all walks of humanity, that it knows no bounds, and that it must be taken seriously be all people. This can't be treated as an us v. them story. I'm optimistic from the trailer that the movie seems to know that already.
As always, fingers crossed, but I'm excited to be seeing this. I won't be going obligatorily.
Also, I just loved love loved that last song and how it played out over the final montage of images. Leto dancing at the party, the soft and breaking hug between him and McConaughey, Garner's toss of the head in deference to McCon's flirtation, McCon in the candles with the very visible lesion on his forehead, lots of very living images.
Also, did I hear a rumor somewhere that there was no background score or music in the actual film? Did I see an MM interview where he mentioned something to that effect?
Your 'unfair' no isn't unfair. It's the 21st century, time people started noticing this kind of thing, and it's definitely a characteristic of the movie itself.
1. Maybe so - it looks better than I thought it would. That said... not completely sold. It relates to the fair unfair aside. To be blunt - there was very, very little of the gay community/ homophobia aspect in the trailer. The trailer touches upon it, so we know it's there, but the question is, how much is this, and how much is meant to celebrate Ron Woodworf. Also, and that's a common problem with biopics, the vibe I'm getting from the trailer is that this is a super sympathetic portrayal of Woodworf. By all accounts, the man was far from perfect, and there's such a thing as being in love with your subject a bit too much, and the trailer definitely crossed into that territory.
2. Only McConnaughey. I believe I commented somewhere here only last week saying I'm not so sure about his nomination... after seeing the trailer, it definitely looks like he has a chance. Still rubs me the wrong way a bit, but it looks like he's doing a good job and it could be justified. Not seeing Garnet at all, and I don't think Jared Leto has a chance - based mainly on his previous performances, as he wasn't featured enough in the trailer to be able to tell. Losing weight and getting into drag isn't enough for a nomination, there should be something behind it too. Which leads us to three....
3. A difficult one. Here's the thing. Sometimes, it's all about the body modification. Other times, it's obvious that the body modification is a way for the actor to tap into something more in the performance. Jared Leto belongs to the first group. I'm saying it because of those horrible interviews and photoshoots he did while shooting the movie. He didn't only do it completely irresponsibly, he was glorifying the weight loss and pretty much 'selling' it. It was terrible and it was unnecessary and whatever the performance ends up being, it shows that in his own mind it's about the gimmick.I don't think he should have approached it from this angle, I don't think he should have done it, and I don't think he should be rewarded for it.
That said... it's a lot harder for me to take this attitude with an actor like Bale. Yes, he does it irresponsibly, and much more often, but he doesn't glorify it and it's obvious he's using it in order to get somewhere in his performance rather than to show off to the camera. I don't think he got that Oscar for the weight loss, I really do think he got it for the performance, and the weight loss helped get the performance. Not thrilled about it, but it doesn't feel like a gimmick in his case.
So, I guess I'm taking this on a case by case basis?
I haven't seen The Butler yet, but I don't think Milk and The Help can be put in the same category. In the latter it is the stories of black people that come to light but it is thanks to a white person. In that respect I think a relation could be made with this one (from the trailer alone), with Matthew McConaughey being the Emma Stone and Jared Leto being the Viola Davis.
That was an excellent trailer. An easy YES for me! Get that Oscar nod, Matthew McConaughey! It's your time now.
Again, AIDS is not only a "gay issue," that is valid and important to recognize, and Ron Woodruff did indeed suffer and die from this disease, as have and will many more heterosexual people. If anyone wants to cast stones about his personal behaviors that lead to his contraction of the disease, I ask you to think first, as this was/is the conservative argument against gays whose sexual behavior was frequently the cause of their own contraction. I'm intrigued to see what happens when this man is made to see himself in the same light as those he previously ignored or disdained. The trailer makes it clear that his intentions were selfish and self-serving at the start of his mission, but I'm looking forward to see the narrative arc it might achieve. I appreciate that this story is centered on a straight man with the disease, but does not separate him from the gay community that was affected in a much more widespread manor. His ability to treat himself does not seem bettered by his being white and male and heterosexual. Dramatic circumstances, such as the AIDS epidemic, can have the power to humble the culture as a whole and we begin to see our similarities rather than our differences.
Yes, movies like "The Help" and "Philadelphia" might play the baiting hero game strongly. But This doesn't seem to deserve the same kind of expectations.
Finally a movie about AIDS that does not equate AIDS with homosexuality, nor does it ignore the special relationship to that particular community. Many lives could have, can be, and won't be saved because people still think of this as a gay disease (and I don't even want to START about how the younger gay generation doesn't even think of it as a serious possibility or a threatening problem because of misinformation and the current ways it is discussed within the community -- I want to see the movie that stirs up THAT conversation).
I'm seeing this as more of a Girl, Interrupted dynamic. It was supposed to be Winona's vehicle for the world to see her as this phenomenal award-worthy talent and then Angelina just swooped in and blew everyone away. (Matthew being Winona and Jared being Angelina, respectively) The only difference is I think that Matthew's performance will be applauded more than Winona's was and he could very well get a nomination, but I think Jared will steal the film.