The Oscars are only a week away and there are still SO many movies to see. This weekend I crossed two films off my list. I’ll start with Dallas Buyers Club, which placed the fantastic Matthew McConaughey as the absolute favorite to the Oscars.
So… I even said on instagram how I’m rooting for DiCaprio, right? I think it’s about time he won an award, for all his history, all the amazing characters he’s played: The Wolf of Wall Street, Django Unchained, J. Edgar, The Great Gatsby… I don’t know, there are so many! What about Titanic? So it’s not just for Wall Street, but for his whole career. I think he’s a genius and really deserves it. But then I went to see this movie featuring the absolute favorite Matthew…And… I have to admit I was divided.
I didn’t think the movie was all that. It’s fine. What really got me was the actor’s work. He plays Ron Woodroof (the real guy whose story inspired the movie!), a Texan-redneck-homophobic-electrician (really homophobic) who’s diagnosed with AIDS in a time (1986) when it was seen as a “gay disease”.
He gets the news along with a prognosis of only 30 days left to live. Can you imagine that?
It’s a painstaking performance. Starting by his characterization. He lost SO MUCH weight. 48 lbs. You can see the illness in his face. When the film started, I didn’t know much about the story and in the first scenes I could tell he’d have HIV. Before they even mentioned it. That’s how good his construction is. He gets better at every scene. Exquisite.
Another pleasant surprise was Jared Leto (I don’t recall having watched any of his movies! But my memory may be sabotaging me, so please refresh it for me!), who plays a transexual who also has HIV. Fantastic! Also nominated to best actor in a supporting role – he won the Golden Globes. And he nails it in this film. Genius. I read he remained characterized throughout the whole shooting period (25 days), and the director was only able to meet the “real” Jared Leto in the movie premiére in Toronto. That’s how I fell more and more deeply for him… Incredible!
So, great movie to check the work of both actors. More than anything else. To watch Matthew make us fall in love with the drug dealer, bad, dishonest, stubborn, unpleasant guy. Defend him. Turn him into a hero. And Leto filling his Rayon with poetry! Turning her into the good girl. Awesome! The nailed it! Worth the tickets.
Now it’s just wait to see what’s the Academy’s verdict.
Are you #TeamDiCaprio or #TeamMcConaughey?
