8 Mile (film)

From AwardAnnals

Reviews

Amazon.com

Rap star Eminem makes a strong movie debut in 8 Mile, an urban drama that makes a fairly standard plot fly through its gritty attention to detail. Jimmy Smith (Eminem), nicknamed B Rabbit, can’t pull himself together to take the next step with his career—or with his life. Angry about his alcoholic mother (Kim Basinger) and worried about his little sister, Rabbit lets out his feelings with twisting, clever raps admired by his friends, who keep pushing him to enter a weekly rap face-off. But Rabbit resists—until he meets a girl (Brittany Murphy) who might offer him support and a little hope that his life could get better. Under the smart and ambitious direction of Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential, Wonder Boys) and ably supported by the excellent cast and the burnt-out environment of Detroit slums, Eminem reveals a surprising vulnerability that makes 8 Mile vivid and compelling. —Bret Fetzer

Barnes and Noble

Music superstar Eminem proves that rapping is both an art and a weapon in this sharp, powerful drama directed by Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential). Eminem portrays Rabbit, a young white man living in a trailer park in 1990s Detroit who hopes to rap his way out of his grim existence as a factory worker. In this bleak urban landscape where the skies are always gray, rap is more than just a ticket to fame and fortune: Verbal sparring is woven into the very fabric of daily life. Rap permeates 8 Mile, both as a form of combat and as a spontaneous expression of inner struggles, personal conflicts, and social consciousness. Rabbit’s best friend (Mekhi Phifer) emcees rap “battles” at a local club, and these hip-hop showdowns have as much in common with boxing as they do with music. As the sole white man in the competition, Rabbit has yet another strike against him. These scenes are completely riveting, and credit goes both to Hanson’s kinetic direction and to Eminem’s formidable rhyming talents. The latter holds his own as an actor, too, helped perhaps by the similarity between Rabbit’s story and his own path to stardom from the Detroit hip-hop scene. It’s a low-key performance that treads a fine line between anger and vulnerability as Rabbit clashes with his deadbeat mom (Kim Basinger) and woos an aspiring model (Brittany Murphy). The basic story of 8 Mile—an underdog trying to rise above his sorry lot in life—is nothing new, but the music and authenticity of the milieu give the film an invigorating freshness. You don’t have to be a rap fan to love 8 Mile: It’s Rocky for a whole new generation. Gregory Baird

Related works

8 Mile: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture

Eminem, Various Artists

How Eminem was able to assemble so many credible emcees of today and yesteryear (Jay-Z, Rakim) to endorse his Holly’hood coming out party is anyone’s guess. What is clear, however, is that (dare we say it) the Shady One might be growing up. On “Lose Yourself” Em abandons his callous, hardcore posturing to write thoughtful hood-centric coming-of-age lyrics that would make Melle Mel proud. On “Battle,” Gang Starr’s Guru tears through a sick beat from rap’s most prolific producer, DJ Premier. Sadly, Nas wastes more valuable studio time dissing Jay-Z (ho hum) on “You…