8 Mile is a great film. There, I said it. I enjoyed it greatly and more and more I am appreciating Marshall Mathers (aka Eminem, aka Slim Shady) for his ability to entertain.
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There were more than a handful of people surprised when Marshall Mathers (aka Eminem) and director Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential, Wonder Boys) collaboration rocketed past the $50 million mark on its opening weekend and found itself grossing nearly $120 million before the end of its theatrical run. The name "Eminem" is nearly synonymous with controversy over the past couple of years and a vast number of the population had banked on 8 Mile being a vanity piece for the rapper as Cool as Ice was for Vanilla Ice. Early buzz from the director and mega-producer Brian Grazer was that Mr. Mathers was a fine actor and he would be in the running come awards season. Most of this early buzz was dismissed as a propaganda war to expand upon the rappers built in audience. Nobody really expected Marshall Mathers and 8 Mile to become one of the top films of the years and surely, nobody expected the film to take home an Oscar AND capture the record for the highest-selling R-Rated DVD release.
When I had first heard of Eminem, I was not impressed, and I stayed away from the hype and controversy. Eventually I was pulled his music when I stumbled across his latest album, "The Eminem Show." I am generally very critical of the rap world, but quickly found a liking to what Slim Shady had to say and it only took me a few seconds to realize that the Slim Shady alter-ego was a joke and was meant for show. I´ll avoid a discussion on the music of the man, but once I listened to the entire album a few times, 8 Mile quickly rose on my list of anticipated films and I was certainly in line on opening night to see if the film would be good or bad. Fortunately, I was able to secure some tickets via the Internet, because I never expected the show to be an opening smash and had I not done so, I would have had to wait another day to see the anticipated film. My anticipation was met and I will say now that I quickly found the film to be one of the year´s best.
8 Mile is loosely based on the life of Marshall Mathers. It takes place in the neighborhoods he grew up in and the lead character Jimmy Smith Jr. has a similar background to Mathers. In 8 Mile, Jimmy Smith is a white rapper known simply as B Rabbit. He struggles from job to job and finds himself moving back in with his mother (Kim Basinger). All Jimmy wants to do is make enough money to get his own place and find a way to make a good living for himself. His aspirations are set on a rap career and he hopes that battles at a club called the Shelter are his ticket to meet those aspirations. His friend Future (Mekhi Phifer) is in charge of the rap battles and does his best to help him along. Jimmy´s color is largely used against him in his attempt to become respected in the rap world. He inhabits a run-down dump of a world and it seems that the more he tries, the deeper shit he finds himself in.
This is a very good film and some props must be given to the talent behind the film. Eminem really is great in this film. With all of the controversy that has surround his career thus far and the heavy degree of dislike in his public perception, he comes across in 8 Mile as a VERY likable person. It is very easy to find yourself rooting for him from scene to scene. His interaction with young actress Chloe Greengfield, who plays Jimmy´s sister Lily shows some of Mathers´ human side and his apparent relationship with his real-life daughter. He comes across as a sincere and caring person, who is street smart and not afraid of defending himself or those he cares for. Mekhi Phifer is another actor that dominates the screen with his presence. I expect to see more of Phifer in the future. As far as the actors go, Basinger was believable as white trash, but her accent became tiresome very quickly and the only downfall to the entire cast. I´m not exactly sure why Evan Jones and his character Cheddar Bob was necessary, but it did provide good comedic relief and offered Mathers a few times to show his compassion towards others.
Hanson and Eminem worked together nicely to bring the dregs of Detroit to the big screen. At one time, Detroit was the target of a plethora of jokes. It was said there was no worse place to be than Detroit. From watching 8 Mile, it looks as if Detroit really is the asshole of the world. In 8 Mile, Detroit becomes one of the characters of the film and its grittiness and toughness adds much to the picture. The world inhabited by Jimmy Smith and his friends is not a place anybody would ever want to be. Hanson gives credibility to the underground rap scene and his interaction with Mathers is quickly apparent and I cannot imagine that either could have made this film the success it is without the other. Hanson needed Eminem´s knowledge and background and the rapper needed the director´s skilled hand at crafting a solid motion picture.
8 Mile is not a film for everybody. It is filled with enough expletives to make Eddie Murphy blush. The film is violent, but it is far from gratuitous. There is not a great deal of blood, though there are fights and gunshot wounds. As far as gratuity goes, there is a brief scene showing Basinger´s back, but the filmmakers did not even include the seemingly necessary breast shot. This is a film that was made to be sincere and honest to the world and story it tells, but it is a film that was made to be as serious as possible and not resort to cheap nudity and unnecessary violence to entertain. The story is very solid, but it is highly based on the world of underground rap. Many who are looking to find a good story and who cares nothing for rap truly can be entertained by this movie, while others who are looking for an entertaining movie may be turned off by the rap.
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