Dare to Live.

Dallas Buyers Club is a story of Texas electrician Ron Woodroof and his battle with the medical establishment and pharmaceutical companies after being diagnosed as HIV-positive in 1986, and his search for alternative treatments that helped established a way in which fellow HIV-positive people could join for access to his supplies.

A son of Texas, Ron Woodroof is an electrician and rodeo cowboy. In 1985, he is well into an unexamined existence with a devil-may-care lifestyle. Suddenly, Ron is blindsided by being diagnosed as H.I.V.-positive and given 30 days to live. Yet he will not, and does not, accept a death sentence.

He does a bit of research that reveals a lack of approved treatments and medications in the U.S., so Ron travels to Mexico. There, he learns about alternative treatments and begins smuggling them into the U.S., challenging the medical and scientific community including his helpful doctor, Dr. Eve

An outsider to the gay community, Ron finds an unlikely ally in fellow AIDS patient Rayon, a transsexual who shares Rons lust for life. Rayon also shares Rons entrepreneurial spirit: seeking to avoid government sanctions against selling non-approved medicines and supplements, they establish a buyers club, where H.I.V.-positive people pay monthly dues for access to the newly acquired supplies. Deep in the heart of Texas, Rons pioneering underground collective beats loud and strong. With a growing community of friends and clients, Ron fights for dignity, education, and acceptance. In the years following his diagnosis, the embattled Lone Star loner lives life to the fullest like never before.

Also worth noting here is the outstanding cinematography of Yves Belanger. This movie is shot in a way that brings out the intimacy of the moments, while not losing the big picture. Director Jean-Marc Vallee and co-writers Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack work together for a solid foundation, but it's McConaughey and Leto that we will most remember.

The screening was held at PVR fourm, as part of the bloggers review for the Oscar Movie review celebrations in leading up to the 86th Academy Awards.