Review: 8 Mile

Posted by: J.S. Lee  •  November 8, 2002 @ 11:59am

Filed under: Reviews

After months of waiting in the wings for just the right moment to drop, the much anticipated (and much delayed) motion picture debut of controversial mega-star rapper, Eminem, finally makes its way into movie theaters this weekend. 8 Mile, directed by Academy Award-winner Curtis Hanson (Wonder Boys, L.A. Confidential) and starring the aforementioned Eminem, can and will be described as a "rap movie". However, as the movie's producers would surely be quick to point out, 8 Mile is not a movie about hip-hop culture or the hip-hop lifestyle, but rather an exploration of a unique facet of American life. Sure the flick stars one of the biggest names in hip-hop music, and features a cast of characters trying to make it big in the rap music game, but to label 8 Mile as simply a "rap movie" would be a gross understatement. Of course on first glance, with its unrelenting hip-hop soundtrack (of course available at a record store near you) and stylized urban look, it would be easy to dismiss 8 Mile as yet another Hollywood money-making attempt to glorify and exploit urban culture (see: Save the Last Dance). But fortunately, with Hanson's highly conscience direction, and the nominally authentic source material courtesy of screenwriter Scott Silver (and Eminem's own life), 8 Mile just manages to transcend the one-dimensional confines of the genre picture, to deliver a rather entertaining and surprisingly engaging meditation on impoverished America's ongoing pursuit to escape and transcend the oppression of inner-city life... using whatever means necessary.

The time is 1995. The place is Detroit city (the 3-1-1, the Mo, the Big D, Murder City). And the who, is Jimmy "Bunny Rabbit" Smith Jr. (Eminem) -- white trash personified. Living with his unemployed mama (Kim Basinger of all people) and his little sister (at least I think it was his sister) at the 8 Mile Trailer Park; barely making ends meat pressing bumpers in a bumper making factory; and let's not forget the pregnant ex-girlfriend. Not exactly the most glamorous of lives, but a life that is probably quite indicative of blue collar America -- especially in a city like Detroit. A city still mourning the death of an industrial and economic American dream. A city marred by high racial tension and even higher crime rates. A city plagued with destitute neighborhoods and dilapidated buildings. Detroit... not exactly the most optimistic of places -- and definitely not for the youth of the inner city.

Existing on the boundaries of poverty, Jimmy Smith Jr. may not have a lot going for him, but what Jimmy does have is his boys -- Future (Mekhi Phifer), DJ Iz (De'Angelo Wilson), Sol George (Omar Benson Miller), and Cheddar Bob (Evan Jones) -- the phat beats blaring on his headphones, and most importantly, the fury of his rhymes that rest on the tip of his tongue. Despite not having much on the material plane, together with his crew (who are pretty much his family) -- known together as Three One Third, and his burning desire to rise above the shit that is his life -- his existence, Jimmy must rely on the one gift he has ever known -- the gift of words and rhyme, if he has any hopes of ever escaping the physical and metaphysical boundary that is the 8 Mile. Perhaps the ability to unleash a freestyle lyrical flow at a moment's notice may not mean a whole lot to most people, but for a guy like Jimmy and the other members of Three One Third, it means everything -- from street credibility and respect, to survival and self-defense. But most of all, it is the one thing that provides the occasional and thrilling escape from a life that sometimes doesn't seem worth living.

Finding its thematic basis in the story of a poor boy trying to escape the old neighborhood to make it rich and famous, 8 Mile obviously can't be cited as a work of refreshing originality. However, what 8 Mile lacks in thematic innovation, it makes up for it in it's "authentic" exploration of a rarely seen and idiosyncratic sub-sect of American society. Largely in part to Hanson's no-frills direction style and Rodrigo Prieto's raw and gritty photography, 8 Mile looks and "feels" the way one would expect the inner-city of Detroit to be. Prieto's images are stark and dirty, and as the audience vicariously traverses the streets and parking garages of urban Detroit (where the movie was actually filmed), one cannot help but taste the industrial soot in the air and smell the crack cooking in one of the many nearby deserted houses turned crack dens. Adding further to 8 Mile's authentic look are the movie's actors (largely unknowns), who look and sound as if they were pulled right off the streets of the Big D and thrown in front of the camera. Even the seemingly pretty Brittany Murphy, who plays Eminem's potential "hot" love interest, looks and is portrayed with a skanky ghetto quality that maintains the movie's overall dirty and gritty aesthetic.

But perhaps the one issue that must inevitably be addressed in discussing 8 Mile is the acting abilities of one, Marshall Mathers (that would be Eminem for those of you over the age of 30). Can the man act? Quite frankly, it is the nature of the rap game that all rappers must be decent or semi-decent actors. No matter how rough or poor the hood they once toiled is, by the time their debut album has reached number one on the charts, a large percent -- if not all, of a rapper's inherent thugged out nature is bound to have been pampered into submission by all the bling-bling and ching-ching. Hence, the rap stars that the kids see on the cover of "Source" magazine are nothing more than a mere portrayal of the thugged out gangstas they perhaps once were. But to answer the question at hand, yes, Eminem can act -- but remember, Eminem has been acting ever since he first appeared on MTV with Dr. Dre years ago -- and he is basically playing himself. However, if credit is to be given to Eminem's thespian skills, it is because this rapper-turned-actor actually manages to rise above his already established rapper role/persona. Audiences may be surprised to find that the Eminem seen in 8 Mile is one of shocking emotional depth and vulnerability. The rapper's aggression and anger are all still there of course (after all, that is who he is), but pleasantly absent is the man's arrogant and cocky flare, which have been fittingly replaced by a sobering sensitivity and insecurity. Sure there are some trite and overtly sentimental scenes tailored to showcase a softer more gentle Eminem -- this is still Hollywood filmmaking after all, so can one really be surprised by the occasional moment of cheese? But if the viewer overlooks the occasional Spielbergian moment, and doesn't focus too greatly on the minor narrative loose ends that plague the movie from time to time, then one is bound to be swept up by the movie's driving climactic build up, and perhaps even touched by the movie's understated, yet fitting dénouement.