“Dallas Buyers Club” is the true story of a homophobic, drug-abusing, sex-addicted hustler who learns to love.

I love this kind of story. From Gran Torino (in which Clint Eastwood plays a racist old man with a heart of gold) to Rain Man (in which a selfish yuppie Tom Cruise finds an emotional connection to his autistic brother), these stories are always golden. It’s probably the fact that I’m a severe leftist, but I always think it’s an amazing sentiment: that every type of hate or poor judgement can probably be solved with a little perspective. All in all, I think this may be the singular trope that happens to work best for me. It is too a uniquely impressive feat of character development: the presenter here has to convince me to hate and then to love in the span of two hours a single character.

Aside from the analysis as a story, “Dallas Buyers Club” is an amazing piece of cinema. It almost works as a documentary; the events are presented with such realism that it seems to be as such. It is a true story, and so this is pertinent. More than this, it is an incredibly important story. It depicts not only the specific scenario of the 1980’s conflict between AIDs victims and the stubborn and profit-driven, lobbyist-controlled FDA, but also the broader discussion of the stigmatization, ostracization, and violence that homosexuals and bisexuals have faced in our society. It can be a very difficult film to watch at points, filled as it is with slurs and scenes that are absolutely disheartening. It is all very, very necessary.

Obvious other notes for the film are the performances of Matthew Mcconaughey and Jared Leto, both of whom won Oscars. They are, however, absolutely astounding. The realism of “Dallas Buyers Club” never breaks, from the intimate, shaky and nontraditional cinematographic style to the stark minimalism in terms of music and the dedicated performances of each actor or actress.

Watch it. That’s an assignment.

8.8/10