Upamanyu Biswas
Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée, ‘Dallas Buyers Club‘ tells the story of Ron Woodroof, an electrician whose life is upended after he is diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. Subsequently, Ron embarks on a mission to procure unapproved drugs from outside the country in the hopes that they might save him from a poorly understood disease in the mid-1980s. Along the way, Ron manages to befriend an HIV-infected transwoman named Raymond Rayon, who helps him start a business selling drugs to other HIV patients like himself. However, his relationship with Rayon starts off difficult as his hostility towards transgender people extends to her. Yet, over time, the two manage to bridge their differences and become important support pillars for one another, ushering in new growth for both. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Raymond Rayon is a Fictional Transwoman Inspired By Several Transgender AIDS Patients
Raymond Rayon is a fictional character in ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ conceived by the film’s scriptwriters Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack. She is a composite character created from the experiences of transgender AIDS patients and activists, who Borten and Wallack interviewed while researching the material for the story. As such, she has no specific real-life counterpart but can be seen as a representation of a larger group. In the movie, Rayon is portrayed as a resilient AIDS patient who becomes close to Ron despite his initial transphobic attitude. Gradually, their bond deepens, with her having a profound impact on his life and changing his view on a lot of things. Ron met similar transgender folk like Rayon in his life, who had an overarching impact on his life, which made her inclusion in the narrative vital.
Borten stated that Rayon’s inclusion helped illustrate and enhance the dramatic and narrative challenges present in Ron’s life. The co-scriptwriter alleged that just like his fictional counterpart, the real-life Ron was initially prejudiced and biased against transgender people. According to the writer, Ron went through a profound character growth and transformation following his challenges with HIV/AIDS, mirroring his movie counterpart. As such, it was pivotal to depict his changing stance and his ability to go from bigotry to tolerance as a positive shift in character and attitude. However, this portrayal clashes with the claims of people close to Ron, who insisted that he was not a homophobe before contracting AIDS. In fact, according to them, Ron was allegedly an openly bisexual man when he was alive.
The real-life Ron’s friends and doctors stated that they never knew him as someone with anti-gay beliefs nor that he was heterosexual. Therefore, if their opinions are to be believed, then his fictional counterpart is far from the mark. Consequently, it takes away the need to have a character like Rayon, who helps Ron change his negative outlook on transgender and gay people. However, as the film doubles down on portraying Ron as a homophobe, Rayon introduces a thematic context that adds another layer to the story. The reason behind such a starkly different portrayal of Ron as a character may have stemmed from Borten’s experiences interviewing him. During their conversations, Borten allegedly saw Ron make homophobic and racist remarks, which he thought were intrinsically tied to his identity.
By the end of the movie, Rayon’s importance in Ron’s life becomes so great that the latter is devastated and shattered after learning of her death. He tailspins out of control, falling back to his old habits of alcoholism to cope with her loss. Even before her passing, she manages to pass him some much-needed cash to keep the Dallas Buyers Club alive, procuring the money by selling her life insurance policy. The generosity in her final act showcases how much she values Ron as a person and friend, a mutually reciprocated feeling. In many ways, the character embodies the heart of the narrative, giving voice to other transgender people suffering from AIDS without any hope. However, she finds a kindred spirit in Ron, helping him cope with hardship even though she is fictional.
Read More: Dallas Buyers Club: Is the 2013 Movie Based on a True Story?
