The historical exposition is often tautly realistic—but the scenes where it lags are the film’s only real flaw. The problem is not that these scenes are plainly written and shot, for the film’s balance of realism and more stylized storytelling is well struck—the film remembers the historical veracity of its events by not overdoing its cinematic flourishes. The shortfall is that these scenes are sometimes repetitive and poorly motivated. The first act in particular stumbles through too many sequences of Woodroof fainting, snorting cocaine and drinking, and discussing the specifics of his disease with Dr. Saks.

These scenes are few and far between—they are minor setbacks in an admirably told underdog story. “Dallas Buyers Club” happens to be an underdog story in itself: Vallée had mostly worked outside the U.S., McConaughey signed on before becoming the rising dramatic powerhouse of “Killer Joe” and “Mud,” the chameleonic Leto’s last wide release was in 2005, and Borten became renowned for writing the longest-languishing script in Hollywood. In Woodroof’s case and the film’s, it’s thrilling to see such chances succeed.

—Staff writer Austin Siegemund-Broka can be reached at austin.siegemundbroka@thecrimson.com.