Passion-Free

Rating: 5/10 (13 October 2003)

A loosely fictionalized biography of Eminem is given the Hollywood treatment by noted director Curtis Hanson (`L.A. Confidential') with the rapper essentially playing himself. It's a very watchable movie, screenwriter Scott Silver's hip-hop variation on `Saturday Night Fever'; it's also not much of a stretch for all concerned (it's hard not to be convincing when you're essentially playing yourself) and not a whole lot of passion gets generated. Instead, much of the time is spent in self-admiration of its design and purpose, a tough-acting `exploration' of a `sub-culture'. Hanson insists on constantly using a handheld camera (the cinematographer is Rodrigo Prieto who also shot `Frida') but rather than provide immediacy, the typically glossy Universal Studio sheen makes this look only slightly different from an episode of `N.Y.P.D. Blue'. Eminem, far from the angry young man persona that's brought him notoriety, seems positively charitable, with the screenplay giving him a haloed aura, a poor, responsible (he loves his little sister), hardworking white waif desperate to make his way into a black culture that wants nothing more than to see him fail, trying to find love in the process (only to be misled by career-driven schemer Brittany Murphy, whose character is sorely underdeveloped); needless to say, as relaxed as he looks, he seems compromised. The supporting cast is filled with solid, professional actors who strip the film of the street credibility it's desperately trying to push across; particularly unconvincing is Kim Basinger, playing Eminem's white trash mom--cast in a purely sympathetic role, no matter how she tries (unfortunately, not very much), she radiates glamour. Other actors include Mekhi Phifer and Evan Jones (in the pathetic-follower role that Barry Miller got to play first in `Saturday Night Fever').