The psyche of a star.

Rating: 8/10 (19 November 2002)

Eminem could have taken an easy road. He could have costarred in the latest Steven Seagal flick, or done a cameo for the Farrelly Brothers' next movie. He could have cashed in on anything he wanted to with his first movie, but he chose something a little more challenging than that.
'8 Mile', named for the road that is the northern border between Detroit and the suburbs, is loosely autobiographical, shaped around the events of an up-and-coming rapper named Jimmy "Rabbit" Smith Jr. (Eminem). Rabbit has to balance working for a living at Detroit Stamping with his dreams of a rap career and an escape from the trailer park he calls home with his mother (Kim Basinger) and little sister Lilly. At night, he cruises the city in his beat-up car with his friends, the 313 crew (named for Detroit's area code). One of the 313 is Future (Mekhi Phifer), who organizes rap 'battles' downtown, where young MC's square off against each other with stylized insults and rhymes - winner gets all the respect.
The film starts with Rabbit psyching himself up for one of these battles, showing none of the anger and cockiness that the real-life Eminem is so known for. Rabbit is unsure of himself, knowing he has talent but intimidated by the forceful personalities that surround him and not quite ready to burst out of his shell and let the world know who he is. Even standing on stage, mic in hand and silent, hearing the boos and calls of 'Choke!', you can see that Eminem the actor has something here, a sense of character that isn't just him playing himself. It's an intensity and a force of personality that is waiting for an outlet and he keeps it smoldering throughout the movie.
Director Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential) keeps the film flowing as sidebars and challenges arise that twist Rabbit in the wind. His mother's boyfriend is a complete waste and not much older than he is. Money is always an issue. An opportunity for free studio time arises, but with strings attached. A muse of sorts (Brittany Murphy, elegantly trashy here) wanders into his life at just the right time. And finally, another rap battle against his rivals, in the same place he choked before. By the time he takes the mic again, the audience has seen his long, hard climb to this point. Opportunity is there, all he has to do is seize it.
And seize it he does - the final rap battle brings the house down. Eminem finally lets loose with the skills we all know he has into a series of cathartic rhymes, taking on all comers. The last rap, where he takes all the bad things people have said about him and uses them to build himself back up, is pure genius and pure adrenaline. By the time all is said and done, Rabbit walks off into the distance on his own - with all the confidence he'll ever need.
Hanson and screenwriter Scott Silver make some good choices here. Eminem's real-life controversial attitudes towards gays and violence is muted with Rabbit to the point where he befriends and sticks up for a gay coworker. The final scenes aren't the big payoffs - the record deals, the demos, the sold-out concerts - but instead are personal victories. Phifer and Basinger do creditable jobs of building up and supporting Eminem's inexperience as an actor and help carry the film through.
It's a worthy debut, and a movie to take seriously. '8 Mile' is gritty, honest, and rewarding.