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Irvine Welsh is at a crossroads. After experiencing the huge success of several film adaptations and six million books sold worldwide, he has become acutely aware of his own mortality. Now, with his hedonistic days drawing to a close, the outspoken author decides to explore the boundaries of consciousness through a psychedelic DMT trip.
Through this unique lens, join Welsh on a brutally honest examination of his life: how his creativity was fostered by his childhood in Edinburgh; the influences he gained living amongst
70’s London counterculture; and how groundbreaking work such as Trainspotting and Filth pulled him out of a self-destructive cycle, but also led him to heights of fame he never could
have imagined. And still one burning question remains – what will come next?
The Garden Cinema View:
Reality Is Not Enough offers an overview of the contradictions that comprise Trainspotting writer Irvine Welsh. From his extreme poverty roots (which he deeply honours but always wanted to escape), to his current cosmopolitan lifestyle as an internationally successful writer, his fascination with boxing, and - above all - his enviably effortless, organic relationship to the art of writing. The flow of the film is interrupted by him experimenting with the hallucinogen DMT under supervision.
What emerges most strongly is that Welsh is essentially a philosopher who does not indulge in easy morals or tidy life advice. With characteristic unassumingness, he's unafraid to embrace all sides of himself, the traditional and the experimental, exuding rare authenticity and wisdom in addition to a deep sense of mystery.