Eminem makes his acting debut in one of the most anticipated films of the year. Curtis Hanson directs, and Kim Basinger, Brittany Murphy, and Mekhi Phifer co-star.
8 Mile
Release Date: November 8th, 2002
Controversy sells. Since the release of his 1999 album “The Slim Shady LP,” rapper Eminem (Marshall Mathers) has stirred up more controversy than any one else in the music world. Teenagers love him, conservative parents hate him, but no one can ignore him. It really was only a matter of time before Eminem moved on to try his hand at other mediums. Luckily, he had an unlikely fan in Curtis Hanson Wonder Boys, L.A. Confidential) who wanted to work with him. Hiring Scott Silver to write the script, the trio worked to bring this semi-autobiographical tale to the big screen. Expectations were certainly running high.
So the question is, does the film live up to those lofty expectations? Yes, for the most part. The film does not make Eminem out to be the patron saint of rap music, as his detractors said it would. It does not glamorize life on the Detroit streets. It does not over-dramatize the lives of its characters. What it does is present the story of a white man trying to make it in a predominantly black man’s world, and at the same time dealing with the adversities presented to him.
Eminem plays Jimmy Smith Jr., which appears to be a name from a Screen Writing 101 class. It helps emphasize the feelings of the character of just being another face in the crowd. His nickname, “Rabbit” is what everyone calls him, especially on the street. He works at a steel plant by day, and by night he hangs with his “313” friends, the most interesting of which are “Future” (Phifer) and Cheddar Bob (Evan Jones). They all dream and talk big about what is going to happen in the future, when they get their record deal and go platinum. They will get all the bitches, cars, etc. Only Jimmy points out that “we’re all still broke as fuck and living with our moms.” Jimmy is certainly a realist.
Jimmy’s mother, played wonderfully by Kim Basinger, is just one of the women in his life. She is living with a guy named Greg, who is almost the same age as Jimmy, they went to high school together. Greg and Jimmy hate each other, and tension is always present when they are in the same room. Greg’s existence makes possible one of the best scenes in the movie. Greg is loudly and drunkenly listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama,” so Jimmy and Future improvise a rap about Jimmy’s life. It is one of the few really funny moments in the movie.
The relationships Jimmy has with women present some of the problems with the film, particularly the screenplay. The relationship Jimmy has with his mother is a stormy one, and she seems to change with the direction of the wind. However, this relationship could be construed as accurate, as oftentimes she is drunk, and that causes her anger at him. The real low point of the film, however, is Jimmy’s relationship with Alex (Brittany Murphy of Don’t Say a Word). Murphy is very generic in her acting, and her character’s relationship with Jimmy is a strange one. It really changes drastically, and her actions are at times inexplicable. The other relationship is with his ex-girlfriend Jeanine, who he has just broken up with at the time the movie starts. She has one scene, but it never seems to go anywhere, and is forgotten before long. There is also his young sister, Lilly, the one who brings out the best in Jimmy.
His relationships with his male friends are much more developed. The most interesting and best acted of the parts is Mekhi Phifer’s “Future.” He constantly pushes Jimmy to participate in his weekly rap contests, even after Jimmy completely freezes one week. “Once they hear how good you are, it’s not gonna matter what color you are.” Jimmy would like to believe that, and we as an audience would like to as well.
The film is technically very good. Director Hanson does not sugarcoat the rough life on the streets of Detroit at all, as some films tend to do. The cinematography is very bleak, focusing on the broken down buildings and dirty alleys the characters inhabit. The film is edited at a perfect pace, never seeming slow. The music, done mostly by Eminem with other contributions from artists like Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Obie Trice, Nas, Macy Gray and others perfectly compliment the actions on screen.
But most people going to see this movie probably will not care who directed it, how the cinematography is. They will go to see Eminem. What I admire most about the movie is that he could have gotten away with making a substandard film of no intrinsic value, but he did not. The film delves into issues of racism, family ties, and life on the street. It ends in a way not many would expect. Not that it is a surprise, per se, but Hanson could have elected for a much cheaper ending than he did. Thankfully, this film delivered the courage of its convictions.
The 411: Eminem has made a strong acting debut in a film of surprising substance. He strikes all the right notes in an excellent performance that did not exceed his boundaries. The supporting cast (particularly Phifer and Basinger) add good support, but hardly a frame goes by that Eminem is not in. For a rookie actor to have the necessary charisma to carry an entire film is remarkable.
