Dallas Buyers Club
Short description
Dallas Buyers Club centres on Ron Woodroof, a Texas electrician and rodeo regular whose hard-drinking, drug-using life is interrupted when a hospital test reveals he has HIV. Told he has roughly a month to live, he refuses to accept the diagnosis as a death sentence. Finding the approved treatment hard to tolerate and ineffective, he looks beyond the American medical system, obtains unapproved medicines abroad and begins smuggling them home.
His operation grows into a buyers club, through which other patients pay a membership fee to receive the drugs he brings in. That brings him into conflict with federal regulators and the pharmaceutical industry, while an unlikely partnership with a transgender woman named Rayon turns the homophobic Woodroof into an advocate for people he once avoided. Matthew McConaughey plays Woodroof, with Jennifer Garner as his doctor, Jared Leto as Rayon and supporting turns from Denis O'Hare, Steve Zahn and Michael O'Neill.
The film was directed by Jean-Marc Vallée, its sixth feature and the one that followed Café de Flore in his filmography, from a screenplay by Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack. Made for about 5 million dollars, it took roughly 55 million worldwide, a strong return on its budget. It holds a 7.9 rating on IMDb from over half a million votes and the same on TMDB, with critics' scores averaging a comparable 7.8.
What's left behind the scenes
- In the scene in 1985, the protagonist is told that his HIV test is positive. At that time, the term HIV was not yet used in medicine, and blood tests capable of reliably determining the presence of the virus were not available until the end of 1986. AIDS was then diagnosed by the number of leukocytes and other symptoms.
- The portrayal of Woodruff differs somewhat from reality; he is depicted as more rough than he actually was. Furthermore, in real life, he had a wife, daughter, and sister, who are not even mentioned in the film.
- The stack of hundred-dollar bills in the Japanese hotel is made up of new banknotes with an enlarged portrait.
- Hilary Swank could have gotten the role in this film, but she turned it down due to scheduling conflicts.
- The film went through many stages before receiving funding with the help of Matthew McConaughey. Initially, Mark Forster could have directed, and Brad Pitt could have played the lead role. Then Craig Gillespie was going to direct the film, and Ryan Gosling could have taken on the lead role.
- When Ron puts a sombrero on Dr. Saks' head while trying to persuade her to prescribe drugs, a door in the background opens and closes.
- When Ron is sitting on the bull, waiting for his turn to ride, his hand is lower on the gate’s top rail after a cut, compared to its previous position.
- Ron Woodruff wears polarized Ray-Ban sunglasses, which only went on sale at the end of the first decade of the 21st century.
- At the beginning of the film, when Ron is collecting money for bets, it can be noticed that the $10 and $20 bills are modern, not from 1985.
- In Woodruff’s office, a large poster of a Lamborghini Aventador supercar hangs on the wall. Serial production of this car only began in 2012, while the film’s events take place in the second half of the 1980s.
- When Ron and Dr. Saks are drinking “Shiner Bock” beer at the house, a close-up reveals a modern logo on the bottle label that could not have existed at the time.
- When Ron returns from Mexico for the first time (approximately 1987), the border guard asks him for his passport, which Ron hands over. A passport was not required to cross the Mexico-US border until 2008.
- Jared Leto remained in character as Rayon throughout the entire filming process. He even went to a store in full makeup once, which caused a mixed reaction from local residents.
- Matthew McConaughey lost 22 kg for the role in the film, Jared Leto lost 13 kg.
- In the supermarket scene, you can spot branded shelving from “Campbell Soup.” These shelves only appeared in 2003, while the events in the film scene take place in 1986.
- In the mid-1990s, Dennis Hopper was attached to the project as director, and Woody Harrelson was considered for the role of Woodruff. But due to insufficient funding, the project did not proceed at that time.
- At the beginning of the film, in the 1980 scene, an advertising poster for “Bud Light” is visible in the background. This beer did not go on sale until 1982.
- Gael García Bernal was at one point interested in a role in the film.
- The television in Dr. Saks’ house is a model from the early 2000s.
- Filming lasted 25 days. Due to budget constraints, the film was shot with a single portable camera, there were no conventional lighting systems, and the length of a take reached 15 minutes. Rehearsals also had to be abandoned, and to the relief of the actors, there was no additional dubbing of the dialogue.
- When Ron returns to his car after being evicted, a shadow from the camera is visible on his chest.
- During the scene in Eve's house, a bottle of Cupcake wine can be seen, which only appeared in 2008.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
