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8 MILE
Review by Michael Jacobson
Stars:
Eminem, Brittany Murphy, Mekhi Phifer, Kim Basinger
Director: Curtis Hanson
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1
Studio: Universal
Features: See Review
Length: 111 Minutes
Release Date: March 18, 2003
“If
something’s gonna happen…it needs to happen NOW.”
8
Mile is
named after the Detroit boundary that separates the city from the suburbs, and
almost literally, the black world and the white world.
It’s appropriately titled, because it’s a film all about borders, the
dreams of breaking through them, the dangers of crossing those lines, and the
small but intense hope that you’ll be the one to make it where so many others
fail.
It
also is, of course, the Eminem movie. Some
of it is true to his own life story, and as he admits, some of it is not.
But life sometimes imitates art, and while in the movie his character
Jimmy has to prove himself in a medium prejudiced against him, the
once-and-future Marshall Mathers had to prove that a rap star…even a big
one…could carry a major motion picture through to box office dollars and
respectability. And if Jimmy walked
away at the end of the story with his head held high, so did Eminem.
I
was reluctantly dragged to see this movie on opening day by a buddy.
I was not an Eminem fan. In
fact, over the years, I had turned a tin ear toward rap and hip-hop in general,
sticking to my guitar, my blues, and my rock and roll.
But there I was, in a darkened theatre, arms crossed, eyes narrowed,
pretty much watching only to see Eminem make an ass of himself.
Instead,
he made one of me. In spite of my
set-in-stone musical tastes and my rock-hard opinion already formulated against
him, I found myself stirred by the story and his performance.
In fact, I still wonder to this day if I liked the picture better than my
buddy did. Admitting I was wrong
took a little time…it was more than just eating my words, which, as a critic,
I’ve done often enough to actually acquire a taste for them.
It was admitting something that would change my whole perception up to
that point and the structured order of my musical life.
I had found respect for rap’s biggest star.
I felt even a small connection to him.
Hell…I LIKED him.
So,
I’m a Johnny-come-lately fair-weather fan, I suppose. I can live with that. From
what I’ve seen and read, I’m not the first film critic to see his opinion of
Eminem do an about-face because of this movie.
I
haven’t even mentioned yet that Curtis Hanson, the mastermind behind L. A.
Confidential, took the reins of this movie in hand.
A proven master storyteller, he recognized in 8 Mile a story worth
telling. Between his drive and
Eminem’s charisma, they crafted a film that has been compared to Purple
Rain, but in all fairness, probably merits comparison to Rebel Without a
Cause, Rocky, or even On the Waterfront.
Yes, frankly…it’s that good.
Em
plays Jimmy Smith, known as Rabbit to his family and friends.
Like many young blue collar laborers in Detroit breaking their backs just
to make ends meet, he dreams of rap stardom.
His best friend Future (Phifer) believes in his talent, but Rabbit
doesn’t quite…on his first big chance in a freestyle rap battle, he gets so
nervous that he throws up in the restroom, and then freezes on stage while a
ruthless crowd taunts him.
Word
travels quickly in the hip-hop community, and Rabbit is branded a choke artist
and a loser. He holds on to his
dreams in the face of the cold reality of his life.
He gave his car to his former girlfriend when she claimed to be pregnant.
He struggles with a daily grind at a metal plant, trying to scrape
together enough cash to make it on his own and hopefully record that elusive
demo someday. In the meantime, he
lives at home in a trailer park with his emotionally scarred mother (Basinger)
and kid sister, while enduring the taunting of her far-too-young lover.
A blossoming romance with a would-be model (Murphy) might be either a ray
of hope for him, or just another complication.
In
Detroit, there may be no East coast-West coast rivalry, but there are still
battle lines drawn across 8 Mile. Rappers
mostly use words as their weapons, but there’s always that chance that
tensions will lead to something worse. In one of the film’s many memorable moments, Rabbit manages
to calmly get his little sister in the house with the door locked behind her as
he awaits the inevitable.
Hanson’s
visual style recreates a bleak world for the screen, while Eminem’s music
provides its heartbeat. It gave me
a bit of satisfaction to know that in real life, Em was discovered by rap star
Dr. Dre while unleashing his words in a fury at a freestyle competition.
When Jimmy finds his world has him completely backed into a corner, he
has no choice but to come out swinging. The
finale will have you on your feet.
8
Mile kind of
leaves Jimmy with the door to his future open at last…nothing settled for
sure, but a great sense of optimism abounding.
In life, Eminem took his act to the top of the charts.
The man can rap. The pleasant surprise is that he can also act.
There’s hardly a frame of this film that doesn’t ride on his
shoulders, and he doesn’t shirk. True, to a certain extent, he’s playing a version himself,
but I can’t knock him for that…Mariah Carey and Britney Spears each took a
turn at playing versions of themselves, and ended up looking quite foolish.
I
hope this isn’t the last we see of Em on the big screen.
Now that he’s proven he can handle a semi-autobiographical role with no
false steps, I think he’s ready for his next shot.
Video
****
This
is a superb anamorphic transfer from Universal…in fact, I’d dare say it
looks even better on DVD than it did at the movies!
Hanson’s vision of Detroit is cool yet very alive…his frames are
filled with detail, and this presentation captures it all beautifully…no
compression evident, no softness, no loss of detail or visible grain even in the
many darker scenes. This movie is
also available in a pan and scan version, but you should avoid it entirely.
You’ll never feel all of Jimmy’s pressure on stage with only half the
audience to look at.
Audio
****
8
Mile teems
with sounds and pulsates with music, and this digital surround track lets you
feel it all, from the kick of the bass to the roars of the crowd, from the
quietist bits of dialogue to the thunderous noise of the metal factory.
I give the edge to the DTS track for more lower frequency integrity and
better spatial use of sound across both front and rear stages, but the Dolby
Digital track is still superb enough to keep all of its stars…consider it an A
for a perfect score and the DTS an A+ for extra effort.
Features
**1/2
The
features aren’t bad, but man, I would have liked more.
There’s a short production featurette that includes interview clips
with Eminem and Hanson, which is enjoyable but not very in-depth.
A look at the freestyle battles that came about while filming the club
scenes is an interesting look…some of the winners got to duke it out with Em
on screen! Rounding out is a
trailer, talent files, production notes, a look at both soundtrack CDs for the movie, and the “Superman”
music video. I got the uncensored
features version, so be warned…though the movie has no nudity, this video
certainly does!
Summary:
