Dallas Buyers Club on Blu-ray is worth watching, but not for the extras

Last year there was a lot of acclaim for the based on a true story movie Dallas Buyers Club, in particular the performances of Jared Leto as a transgender woman and Matthew McConaughey as a man slowly dying from AIDS. The movie tells the story of Ron Woodruff, a real life rodeo cowboy who contracted AIDS but began smuggling drugs to help sufferers with medicines not available in the US due to the FDA not approving their use. Although the movie can at times be difficult to watch, it is truly is an excellent film that successfully dramatizes Ron’s struggles against corporatism, bureaucracy, and bigotry.

Much has been said especially on Jared Leto, deservedly so, as his performance as Rayon, a transgendered individual suffering from the disease is truly extraordinary. Naturally, McConaughey and the other actors do more than okay here, although there are one or two mildly cartoonish caricatures. The story feels both inspirational and depressing, but it is certainly a movie worth your time if you can take the difficult subject matter and some mildly graphic scenes in hospitals. Jennifer Garner does mostly decent work here as a doctor who is trying to toe the line between good practice and ethics.

If this was the sort of film that was entirely fictional, the turn of homophobic Ron to becoming more accepting of others might seem pat or cliched, and the idea that it takes AIDS to “fix” that is offensive. But the fact that this is all based on reality lends a heavy, dramatic weight to the arc of the character. It becomes a story of willpower and strength not to accept fate, fighting against “the man” and helping out those less fortunate. McConaughey is really just dynamite as the lovable rogue type who starts out as not that lovable at all. He and Jared Leto become dangerously skinny as the movie continues, showing that legitimately life threatening acting technique is certainly impressive, if ill advised in the long term. Starting with a bang and with a fast pace, this is a movie that makes you feel uncomfortable straight off the bat, and doesn’t let up.

This is also somewhat of a black comedy, with two winning leads who aren’t afraid of the material. There is certainly a message here, an overarching theme about government interference literally killing people, so I wouldn’t call it subtle. Still, this is a movie that starts with the hero being told “you will die” and then you watch as he makes the most out of what he has left. I really enjoyed it, although there’s a bit of nudity and plenty profanity with “adult themes” for those too squeamish to handle such things.

As for the Blu-Ray itself, the picture is sharp and the sound crisp, but there’s not as much point to extreme quality in a movie like this where the visuals aren’t meant to impress, just be the seamless part of any movie. The extras are sparse. They include:

1. Deleted Scenes (4:55) — Three deleted scenes at under five minutes, including an extended scene with the doctor and Ron helping a strung out Rayon, and two short others that were deleted for a reason. Honestly, it’s not much in the way of deleted scenes.
2. A Look Inside Dallas Buyers Club (3:56) — A criminally short “about the movie” piece that has a few cast interviews and the barest hints of background information on the story.

What all this adds up to is that the movie certainly should be seen if you want to see some of the best performances of 2013, or barring that, just one of the better films of last year. But don’t go out expecting a boatload of exciting extras or a commentary track to shed more light on the proceedings. None of that here, nope! Might be better to wait for it on NetFlix, but it’s extremely watchable.