8 Mile (2002)

A young rapper, struggling with every aspect of his life, wants to make the most of what could be his final opportunity but his problems around gives him doubts.

Director:

Curtis Hanson

Writer:

Scott Silver

Stars:

Eminem, Kim Basinger, Mekhi Phifer

Won 1 Oscar. Another 8 wins & 19 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Eminem	...	Jimmy 'B-Rabbit' Smith
Kim Basinger	...	Stephanie Smith
Mekhi Phifer	...	David 'Future' Porter
Brittany Murphy	...	Alex
Evan Jones	...	Cheddar Bob
Omar Benson Miller	...	Sol George
De'Angelo Wilson	...	DJ Iz
Eugene Byrd	...	Wink
Taryn Manning	...	Janeane
Larry Hudson	...	Bouncer
Proof	...	Lil' Tic
Mike Bell	...	Shorty Mike
DJ Head	...	Battle DJ
Michael Shannon	...	Greg Buehl
Chloe Greenfield	...	Lily Smith

Storyline

A rap version of "Saturday Night Fever." B-Rabbit, a wannabe rapper from the wrong side of Detroit's 8 Mile, has problems: he dumps his girlfriend when she tells him she's pregnant; to save money to make a demo tape, he moves into his alcoholic mom's trailer; his job's a dead end, and he's just choked at the local head-to-head rap contest. Things improve when he meets Alex - an aspiring model headed for New York - and a fast-talking pal promises to set up the demo. Then new setbacks: Alex isn't faithful, mom rejects him, rifts surface with his friends, and he's mugged by rivals. Everything hinges on the next rap showdown at the club. Can B-Rabbit pull truth out of his cap?

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Plot Keywords:

contest | friend | model | gun | single mother | 

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Taglines:

Find Your Voice

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Genres:

Drama | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language, sexuality, some violence and drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Universal Pictures [us]

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 November 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fight Music

Filming Locations:

Chin Tiki Club - 2121 Cass Avenue, Detroit, Michigan, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$41,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$635,354 (Japan) (30 May 2003)

Gross:

$5,240,354 (Japan) (4 July 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Imagine Entertainment, Mikona Productions GmbH & Co. KG

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The rap contests are set in a club called The Shelter. When Eminem lived in Detroit, he first started performing at this very same club.

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Goofs

In the last rap battle, a cable is visible.

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Quotes

B. Rabbit: Mom, you gotta stop living your life like this!

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Crazy Credits

The final credit reads, "Filmed on location in the 313"

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Connections

Spoofed in D' Anothers (2005)

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Soundtracks

"Shook Ones Pt. II"
Written by Prodigy (as Albert Johnson) and Havoc (as Kejuan Muchita)
Performed by Mobb Deep
Courtesy of The RCA Records Label, A Unit of BMG Music
Under license from BMG Special Products

User Reviews

Good, but nowhere near perfect

8 Mile tells the story of a white kid on the wrong side of the tracks living in Detroit with a dead end job and a trailer park mom. Deep inside, he aspires to break free from the chains of the reality of his life through the poetry and passion and rawness of rap; the one place he can possibly gain a feeling of purpose and hear his own voice. Obviously, it's no big secret that this storyline runs very parallel to that of of Eminem's own roots and his own aspirations. Where fiction and reality collide is blurred and that works for the picture. First off, I think Curtis Hanson did a great job rebuilding that world and protecting his novice lead. He understood the material and I was drawn in to the world that he recreated. Also, the cinematography widely lends itself towards upping the ante of the picture and making you feel the authenticity of a world and a place where many of us have never traveled nor never will. As for Eminem himself, at first I found him a little stoic, but given the fact that this guy has never acted before, regardless of how 'autobiographical' the material may be, I thought he did a decent job in front of the camera. Hanson was wise to protect his lead with awesome supporting work from Mekhi Phifer and pretty much everyone else that portrays his friends and peers in the film. Eminem obviously was a little green and surrounding him with these actors gave the movie and Eminem's journey more credence. Brittany Murphy was also very good, but I found her character to be a bit expedient. She definitely was not used to her full potential and I felt that if they had used her relationship with Rabbit to a larger or deeper extent, it only would have lent more to the film. One of the scenes I was most impressed with was the sex scene between Murphy and Eminem. Gone were the Hollywood antics of glossing it up or ghetto fabulous and I felt that Hanson captured something that was fascinating, uncomfortable and realistic that I haven't seen in a Hollywood film before.

Now for what I feel made this movie not rise to the top... First off, when Kim Basinger first came on the screen and opened her mouth, I thought the rest of the film was going to be destined for failure. Not only was she weak in the role, she was grossly miscast. There are so many actresses in that age range that I find it mind boggling that Basinger was used for something in which she stood out like a fish out of water. The film also almost lost me in the beginning due to the length of the first scene in the bathroom when Eminem is psyching himself up. The placement of the scene wasn't a problem but it went on way too long - I would have prepared an edited down version. If you're watching Robert DeNiro for that long looking in a mirror, yes, it'll probably work, but to put that type of pressure on a first timer with no training, especially since it's shortly followed by Basinger's first scene was a risky move and one that I think they could have found a better choice for. The other thing that kept this film from being a totally strong film for me was the screenplay itself. I kept finding myself asking why the hell Scott Silver had some of these extraneous scenes in the story. There was a good story to be told here and a whole world to be explored by the general public that doesn't know that much of it, and the script and film could have and should have been a good 25 minutes shorter and tighter.

Anyway, still an intriguing film. And interesting insight into a different side of life and I commend Eminem for taking the risk. It's a lot to bite off and half the country is just dying for a chance to decimate him. If for nothing else, this film is worth the last 5 minutes. When he was up there battling, I actually started clapping and cheering out loud in the theater - no matter where he stands as an actor, when he's in his domain, he is fantastic, whether you like what he's saying or not.

A 7 out of 10 for a movie that was actually worth spending a budget on. Not perfect, but definitely it's own thing with some good moments. And when they're good, they're really good.