Quick Movie Review: Philip K. Dick: The Penultimate Truth
Philip K. Dick: The Penultimate Truth (DVD / MPAA Rating: NR / Running Time: 1 hr., 29 min.) is a biography of the late, great science-fiction author. It is not a particularly good biography. I found the device of two guys in a room opening boxes marked as classified and then putting pictures and notes on a cork board to be rather annoying. However, the interviews with three of Dick's five wives were interesting. As were the interviews with various friends. Philip Kindred [sic] Dick was the surviving child of twins. The death of his twin sister deeply affected him. Dick had a habit of finding troubled women in need of rescue; but, as he himself was often in need of rescue, this did not often turn out well. Dick struggled with reality - and this is reflected in his stories. He had deeply religious experiences - on and off again. Dick would often attribute them to God and then later attribute them to flashbacks from the copious drugs he took.
RECOMMENDATION: This is not a particularly good biography; however, it did provide some insight into the troubled history of a man whose work I find fascinating. If you share my fascination with Philip K. Dick, then rent the movie - I am not certain you will enjoy it but it should hold your attention.