Movie Review: 8 Mile

8 Mile (2002) 

Directed by Curtis Hanson 

Written by Scott Silver

Starring Eminem, Mekhi Phifer, Brittany Murphy, Kim Basinger

Release Date November 8th, 2002 

Published November 7th, 2002 

Once, Detroit was the center of the automotive boom. Flush with jobs the area was a boomtown until a sea change in the 60's when riots and recession began to reshape the city. By the 1980’s, the automotive boom was over. General Motors, amongst other car companies, began closing plants and laying off workers. The economic strife led many, mostly white people to move away from Detroit. The racial divide which has always been unspoken became more pronounced as one city street became a geographical dividing line between black and white. 

That street was 8 Mile, and it was on this street lined with run down buildings that a community of underground musicians began to rise, particularly a rap scene that was on the verge of changing the music scene. The movie 8 Mile dramatizes the underground Detroit rap scene, focusing on the white kid who would shock everyone by becoming it's breakout star. 8 Mile is not technically a biography of rapper Eminem, but the story of Eminem's 8 Mile character closely parallels the real life of the Real Slim Shady.

Eminem stars as Jimmy Smith Jr., known to his friends as Rabbit. As we join the story Rabbit is about to take the stage for a verbal war. Rappers get on stage dissing each other to the delight of the crowd, who ever delivers the stronger rap, wins. The battle of the MC's is presided over by Rabbit's close friend Future, effectively embodied by Mekhi Phifer. Future has had to beg and plead with Rabbit to jump on stage and show the skills that he and the crew known as the 313, for the Detroit area code, have seen. It is the skill we in the audience know he has, because he's Eminem. 

In the film however a frightened Rabbit first pukes his guts out backstage then get on stage and freezes, walking off stage without a word. Whether it was the hostile all black crowd, or his opponent Popa Doc's savage raps, we aren't sure. However, to see the man who in real life is known for his fast and fearless style run off stage without a word is an intriguing introduction the semi autobiographical story. 

Rabbit can be forgiven his lack of focus on stage as off stage he has real problems. He and his girlfriend have broken up after she revealed she is pregnant. Rabbit just lost his job delivering pizza's and now works at an automotive parts plant, a job no one wants. Worst of all Rabbit must go back to his mother’s trailer where his alcoholic mother is living with her equally alcoholic boyfriend, who is merely 2 years older than Rabbit himself. 

Future has big plans for himself and Rabbit, he wants to record a demo but most of all he holds out hope that someone important will hear Rabbit onstage and offer to produce them. Unfortunately, Future has been talking like this for years while another friend, a hustler named Wink (Eugene Bird) is actually making some things happen at a local radio station, though his tactics may be less than ethical. Wink also represents the 313's rivals, a group that includes Popa Doc (Anthony Mack) and rapper Xzibit as the group’s leader Hassan. 

With battles at home and on the streets, Rabbit turns to his friends for shelter then meets a girl that could be his oasis from all the trouble. Brittany Murphy plays Em's love interest, Alex, a wannabe model with a connection to Wink who she says is helping her get a modeling contract. The relationship develops quickly with Rabbit jumping in quickly even while Alex's motives are obviously unseemly. Alex's ulterior motives, as apparent as they are to the audience, give depth to the character that is necessary to leaven Murphy's bubbly exterior. When Alex's duplicitousness is shown to Rabbit the scene is very effective and gives her presence throughout the remainder of the film a kick. From there, the story is a very conventional overcoming the odds story that will obviously culminate with Rabbit onstage. 

The main question everyone wants answered is, can Eminem act? The answer is an honest 'I don't know.' Yes he does have an effective presence but the fact that he is playing a version of himself makes the comfort he shows in front of the camera a little too easy. Rabbit never transcends Eminem to become a separate entity. You can't separate Eminem from the character, a quality necessary when judging the performance. 

The thrust of the film comes from the stage. The rap battles are as exciting as any boxing match, with words landing like body blows and the audience cheering like the hordes at the roman coliseum every time a sword lands a blow. It is in these scenes that Em truly shines, showing his remarkable self-deprecating wit and savage wordplay. Nevertheless, once again, this does blur the line between character and actor.

The main problem with 8 Mile isn't Eminem, it is director Curtis Hanson. Best known for being an actor’s director, Hanson has never been short on intelligent word play and he isn't in 8 Mile. What is lacking is style. Hanson's Detroit is a depressed bombed out city that looks more at home in the former Czechoslovakia than Michigan. Yes, economic hardship has taken its toll on the city over the years but Hanson's vision of Detroit is at times so bleak that it's distracting. We see that Rabbit has a lot to overcome with his mother, played by Kim Basinger, an ex-girlfriend and soon to be mother of his child played by Bridget Moynihan, and with his would-be career in Hip-Hop. Is it necessary that he also overcome his physical surroundings, which seem to swallow him at times in a depressive gray hue. 

The little light there is comes from Rabbit's interaction with his crew, Future, Cheddar Bob (Evan Jones), D.J Iz (De Angelo Wilson) and Sol George (Omar Benson Miller). The easy fun interaction between the friends provide the few light moments 8 Mile provides.

8 Mile isn't a bad film, it's just too conventional at times. It's as if Curtis Hanson simplified his style to make an easier environment for his first time star. The film needs a more risk-taking style and less genre safety. The film plays too straight, it needs maybe some handheld camera style, and more close-ups or deep focus shots. Something different from the point and shoot style of every other film.  I liked 8 Mile, especially the on stage verbal warfare, but there is something wholly unsatisfying about it. I recommend 8 Mile but it's not as good as many of us had hoped.