Anyone who's seen True Detective will admit there's some credence to the idea that Matthew McConaughey won his Best Actor Oscar partially in response to his incredibly measured/totally unhinged turn as Rust Cohle in the sublime HBO cop drama, but to fully subscribe to that is a disservice to his performance in Dallas Buyers Club. The height of the McConaissance, Ron Woodroof is an emotional and, more remarkably, physical challenge that in lesser hands could have come across as simple Oscar bait. Dallas Buyers Club is one of those Oscar hopefuls that come across as something resting almost entirely on its acting prowess, and while there's no denying McConaughey and Jared Leto's Oscar winning turns are indeed its biggest strength, the film doesn't let their A-List prowess overwhelm it. The story of a sexually-deviant homophobe who discovers he has AIDs and is forced to address both his prejudices and his mortality, is told sensitively, using every penny of its slight budget to enhance its feel - the Oscar winning make-up was done for $250. The only real weak link is Jennifer Garner as Woodroof's doctor - compared to the two male leads, who drastically alter themselves for the part, having such a big name give a pretty standard performance feels a little slight. Although it's a minor quibble when everything else is so incredible.
