Lives up to the hype

Rating: 9/10 (3 May 2003)

Another rapper making a transition to acting? Eminem receiving worldwide acclaim for his performance with some promise of an Oscar nomination? This is the kind of stuff the press just has a field day with. But guess what? This is not your standard vehicle for an up-and-coming hip-hop star. Directed by Curtis Hanson, who made the wonderful "LA Confidential," this is a deeply moving, thought-provoking, unpretentious drama that sheds light on a world I knew nothing about: the world of rap battles.

I'm not the biggest fan of hip-hop, but it's an art like any other. What I don't understand is when a movie is filled with profanity, sexual content and violence, it's deemed as realistic, yet when a rap song contains those same elements, it's deemed as exploitative. These rappers are simply placing a mirror up to reality. How can you write about beauty and happiness when it barely exists in the world you live in? These rappers live in a world filled with gang violence and drive-by shootings, so they have to write what they know about. Martin Scorcese lived in a rough neighborhood growing up, and that's why he makes hard-boiled films about gangsters and other characters of that sort. And rightfully so, he receives much acclaim for placing that mirror up to reality.
I never knew about these rap battles, and I found them to be very interesting. They're like boxing matches, only the competitors fight with words. They search for each other's weaknesses, and do their best to mock those weaknesses via rap lyrics.
Now onto Eminem's performance...Yes, he was magnificent! Some critics and audiences claimed it wasn't a stretch for him, since he's playing a character that's so close to who he really is. First of all, acting is not just about being "another person." Just watch Prince's "Purple Rain" and you'll see what I mean. Was Prince playing a character vastly different from himself? Of course not! But he was still horrible! Acting is about expressing yourself and showing emotion. And Eminem did a beautiful job at showing emotion, and what impressed me the most was there was a lot of scenes in which he had no dialogue and had to express the way he was feeling nonverbally. I know, as an aspiring actor, that the hardest thing to do in acting is to be silent. It's easy to scream your head off in an intense dramatic scene, and let out all your aggression. But to communicate your emotions simply through facial expressions and body language? That takes talent. Not to mention that's a huge challenge for a first-time, inexperienced actor. I'm sure Curtis Hanson saw something great in him or else he wouldn't have hired him in the first place, because Hanson is a very reputable director and is not a whore for the industry, who'll allow any popular music star to walk onto his set to make a boatload of cash. Second of all, Eminem's character wasn't a carbon copy of himself, but an extension of himself, just like the story was inspired from moments in his life, but it's not exactly an autobiography. I recall one critic saying that if playing yourself in a movie were so easy, then anybody can act. That rings very true. Acting is something many people say they can do with their hands tied behind their backs, but once they're in the spotlight, they freeze up. So for all of you smart-alecks who feel that Eminem's performance wasn't a stretch, I'd like YOU to make a movie about your life, and let's see how effective your performance turns out to be. Much easier said than done.

The story is touching and powerful, yet at the same time surprisingly honest. There are a few contrivances, like Eminem finding out one of his best friends is screwing his girlfriend, and we're faced with the cliched scene in which he catches them in the act and beats the crap out of the guy. But other than that, the story is amazingly realistic, which is especially evident in the film's conclusion. It's not a tragic ending, nor is it happy. It's actually a character-driven ending. How often do we see those in movies? The whole film is pretty much character-driven, failing to take the easy way out by manipulating the audience left and right with corny melodrama and sentiment. Each character is rich and multi-dimensional. I assumed that Eminem's trailer-trash mother would be the standard foul-mouthed, abusive wench. But instead I grew to like her character, despite her drinking and sleeping around, because I got a real sense of her humanity and love for her son. The most powerful scene, in my mind, is when Eminem gets the crap kicked out of him as his little daughter watches from the window. At that moment I was nearly brought to tears.

The performances by the supporting cast are also great. Kim Basinger is great as the mother, and her performance (along with the way the character was written) helps add humanity to the role. A less-experienced, less-talented actress would've probably watched every "Jerry Springer" episode for research and hammed it up to extremes. Mekhi Pfieffer, who never disappoints, is also great.
I'm proud that the song "Lose Yourself" won the Oscar, which is the first for a hip-hop song, because its lyrics are rich with meaning and I thought it would be immediately snubbed simply because it's a hip-hop song. But luckily, the Academy voters kept an open mind, because it's really a beautiful song.
I don't care if you're 18 or 60, love hip-hop or hate it, I recommend you see "8 Mile."
My score: 9 (out of 10)