First thing that is needed to be said, is that this is a very physical performance. McConaughey lost so much weight for it and a big part of it is actually made by the makeup artists. But I must add that there is much to this performances, than a juicy look.
At the beginning of the film Ron behaves as a very unresponsible man. He lives a very promiscuous life, he cons people and he is not very kind to people. He only cares about himself. When after some circumstances he gets to the hospital, he is told that he had been tested positive of HIV. The scene he finds it out is actually wonderful in McConaughey's hands. The way he uses his eyes and he interacts with the doctor played by Jennifer Garner is really excellent. I also loved his reaction when the doctor said to him, that he only had thirty days left. He calms down, he bows his head and just stay silent for a few moments. As if he was realizing what did the doctor just tell him. Then he stands up and says it's just not true. I really loved this moment, because I really believed, that this is probably the way anyone would react, if he was told to be HIV-positive.
Firstly Ron does nothing with this new information he had just got. He acts as if nothing happened, so he stays promiscuous and enjoys life. I never had problems believing McConaughey that this is actually what anyone would do, if he was in Ron's situation.
Then later he realizes that there's need to do something, but when he feels that the standard medicine doesn't work, he tries the alternative. You know, McConaughey is great in portraying these parts, because he always stays the same egoistic man. He starts to trade with this medicine, but he only does it because of his eagerness, because he wants to make the money out of it. This is actually not an easy thing to show off. Ron had to change a little bit, because of the illness, but he stays as egoistic, as he was as the beginning. And so does his attitude toward homosexual change. It's a very slow change, but it is happening. And it's alway very realistic and it never seems forced from McConaughey.
As I said, I really loved the way he used his eyes in the particular scene. I actually loved it throughout the entire performance and I also loved how he uses his body. The only thing that seemed to me a bit forced, is how he uses his voice. If you have already seen the film, you probably know what I'm talking about. The way he changes the tone of his voice, as he speaks up and then speaks down, it didn't seem very natural in some scenes. But that is just a detail that bothers me about his otherwise very compact performance. You know, a few years ago I would never have said, that he would be able of such precise character building.
The best scene of his performance would very probably be the one I have mentioned above. The scene, in which Ron finds out that he is HIV-positive. But there are more really great scenes in the film...
The chances of winning an Oscar: He seems to be the frontrunner right now...
He's brilliant here.
ReplyDeleteGreat performance and will be a great winner.
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