2013 · 1h 57m · Jean-Marc Vallée · Ranked #74 on Wuzzah.com
A two bit hustler, drunk and drug addict, Ron Woodroof, gets diagnosed with HIV, and the doctors foresee that he'll have 30 days left to live. Against all odds Woodroof decides to try to self-medicate and on his endeavours through obtaining the illegal drugs, he finds that the system works against the HIV and AIDS patients. He decides to try to change this.
You can have all the prejudices you want, until you get AIDS.
This is a very touching story about a quite uncongenial person. About how getting HIV changes him and his views on the world, yet he stays the same son of a bitch at the same time. Despite him being a racist homophobic bastard you kind of feel sorry for him after a while.
The scary this is that anyone can get this disease, and there is still no cure for it and very little proven medication for reducing the symptoms. I think this movie illustrated pretty well how government agencies like the FDA are part of halting the development of a cure (or any cure for that matter) while trying at the best will to ensure that no one gets exposed to the wrong drugs. It is kind of a paradox.
I liked the movie, and it was better than I expected it to be. It is nominated for an Oscar and I think it could have won it. Also I think that Matthew McConaughey did a superior performance here and I do think that he could run off with an Oscar for his part. Very well done.
Watch this if you like a good drama, if you have to write an article about HIV/AIDS or if you just want to watch a well done sad movie.