8 Mile (2002)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Curtis Hanson

Writer (WGA):

Scott Silver (written by)

Release Date:

8 November 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Music

Tagline:

Go back to where it all started.

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Rap | Friend | Car Trouble | Lunch Wagon | Paintball Gun

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 8 wins & 18 nominations

Cast

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

Also Known As:

8 Mile (Germany)
8 Mile - Jeder Augenblick ist eine neue Chance (Germany) (DVD box title)
Fight Music (USA) (working title)
Fight Song (USA) (working title)
Untitled Detroit Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Zurich) | USA:R (certificate #39361) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Taiwan:R-18 | Philippines:R-18 | Hungary:18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Brazil:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Chile:14 | Finland:K-15 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Iceland:14 | Ireland:18 | Italy:VM14 | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:R13 (re-rating) | New Zealand:R16 (original rating) | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:NC-16 (edited for re-rating) | Singapore:R(A) (original rating) | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:15 | Singapore:M18 (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Imagine Entertainment

Trivia:

As the rap battle scenes took days to film, and the 300 extras were starting to get bored, Curtis Hanson initiated an improv freestyle rap battle among them, where the three best rappers would be filmed going head to head with Eminem. 134 volunteers signed up, each getting 15 seconds in front of the judiciary panel to make an impression. This was then whittled down to 20. Ultimately the jury couldn't decide on just three and chose four instead, all of whom had a one-shot one-take-only scene with the film's star, who had to mime his responses to save his voice for the scripted scenes which remained to be shot. However, Eminem couldn't resist the challenge by staying silent (especially as the crowd was taunting him), and took on his opponents in his inimitable style.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Jimmy Smith Jr. is talking outside the factory, the crew (holding the boom mic) are reflected in the window behind him

Quotes:

B. Rabbit: [whispering to Sol after winning a battle] Yo, that 'Leave it to Beaver' line almost killed me.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "100 höjdare: När hybrisen kom till byn (#3.6)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

C.R.E.A.M.

A Quality Piece of Hard-Hitting Naturalism

8 Mile probably isn't what you expect. Given the cast and premise, you probably expect one of two things, either a silly excuse for self-aggrandizement or an overblown caricature of hip-hop culture. You don't get either. What you get is a brave film that is surprisingly culturally and intellectually rigorous and an aggressive film that is so emotionally intense that it seems to sometimes tear itself apart.

The plot is not a biography of Martial Mathers, a.k.a. Eminem, but it is very much informed and guided by the experiences of his early career as a rapper in blue-collar and no-collar Detroit. Eminem gives a compelled, powerful performance that diverges just enough from his public self to inject the story with a strong sense of realism without sacrificing anything artistically. The supporting cast also makes fine use of their considerable talents, carving the Detroit of this film out of the world itself, not out of fiction. Even as they help communicate a hard, unforgiving time and place, they also give rise to deep and profound sympathies that don't come around in every film.

The naturalistic presentation doesn't stop there; most of the film is shot on location in Detroit, and the gritty, sometimes almost frenzied design and cinematography firmly establish that this is not just another Hollywood movie. This is a movie that goes places movies don't generally go where, for good or for ill, many people do live every day. For one, 8 Mile might have the most believable, most powerful representation of an automobile factory of any film in the last twenty years, and it still manages to use the location for sophisticated, plot driving drama. Good stuff.

Of course, the film has its flaws. It's very heavy and bleak, at times it skirts the boundary of cliche a little bit, and the villains, a rival rap group known as the "Free World," are a little over the top, but, time and again, the solid acting and daunting camerawork keep coming back to seize the eye and command attention.

Oh, and, in case you were wondering, there is rapping, and plenty of it. The rapping is really top-quality, cutting edge stuff, for the most part, and it is integrated into the script so well that it is always clear that the characters choose to rap, not that the script forces them to do so. The rapping happens because it must happen to these characters at this time, not because Eminem is a rapper. In an industry where pop music movies are a dime a dozen, this is particularly impressive. This film says something about rap and the human experience that hasn't been articulated this well many times before; it bridges the gap between rap and poetry in a big way, and makes that gap look a lot smaller.

All in all, the thing that really defines 8 Mile is how committed to this idea the cast and crew must have been in order to make this film. Every minute and every second, the cast's intensity never gives up, and the camera never sleeps. The film is detailed, finely crafted, and has a pounding heart the size of a boxcar. If you don't mind the obscenity and violence (and there is a bunch), I'd definitely say this is a movie worth seeing.