captures an artist, describes a culture (SPOILERS)

Rating: Null/10 (9 December 2003)

Being totally unfamiliar with Eminem or his music I didn't know what to expect from this film. So I'm not qualified to comment on its accuracy. From the little I've heard of rap it sounds to me hopelessly repetitive and whiny.
So one might naturally expect a rap film starring Eminem to be merely one long, drawn-out rap video but - surprise! - Eminem and Director Curtis Hanson provide us with a simple and small but deftly crafted, satisfying cinematic gem: the struggle of a freestyle rapper who fights to assert his style and maintain his dignity in a poor Detroit neighbourhood.
The story is alleged to be based on Eminem's actual background and examines the young rapper's life with a terrifically biased view: Eminem is presented to us as a brilliant iconclast; an inspired, hard-working artist; and an entirely decent, determined young man who defends his mother and protects his little sister. Which he may be, I don't know. Eminem plays a rapper nicknamed Rabbit who has practically everything and everybody against him: he's dirt poor; his mother (played by Kim Bassinger - a weird but successful casting choice) is an alcoholic; he's got a dreadful job at a factory where the foreman hates him; a competing gang of rappers is out to hurt him and his girlfriend cheats on him with one of his buddies.
But despite the whitewashing, it's a very enjoyable film. Eminem's performance is astonishingly masterful and carefully modulated; we never catch him acting. Of course, he is playing himself, after all, but nevertheless he delivers a winning performance that's full of shades and nuances. He glares, smolders and absorbs the barbs of his fellow rappers with an evaluative, Robert Mitchem-esque detachment.
Though this is a film about a form of music it bears far more resemblance to Boxing Films than musicals: 8 Mile is the "Rocky" of rap films. Which is to say that it's a predictable and one-sided presentation of a young rapper's struggle to earn the respect of his peers and maintain his self respect. The rap sequences are presented as competitions full of bravura and grandstanding with rappers competing in front of racucous crowds in short, time-limited sets, much like the rounds in a boxing match.
The beat-up texture of the Detroit locations is reflected in the look of the film which has a coarse, harshness; natural colour has been drained of all the scenes and replaced with a chemical green tint; skin is glossy and lit with ochre light. The dialgoue is clipped and choppy street patios and if you're like me you may find yourself wanting to watch this film with the subtitles turned on just to figure out what the hell people are saying now and again.
But all in all it's a great ride and I think this film - as good as it looks now - will only look better with time, seeing as it's a time capsule of a certain time and place, like "Saturday Night Fever", only better, in my view.