8 Mile

8 Mile

Movie:

Life has not been kind to Jimmy 'B-Rabbit' Smith (Eminem). His pregnant girlfriend broke up with him and he gave her his car, although he finds out that she was just pretending. He has a dead end job in a car manufacturing plant and because he is homeless he has to move in with his mum and baby sister in a trailer park.

But B-Rabbit has a dream, he wants to be a rapper and we see him at the beginning of the film preparing for his "battle" in the grimy toilets of a dilapidated night club called The Shelter, he is nervous and actually vomits in the toilets before making his way through the hyped up crowd to the stage, the crowd is mainly black youths, the other rapper he is battling against is black as are his crew, with the exception of his friend Cheddar Bob (Evan Jones) he is the only white guy there; a white guy in a mainly black club, in a totally black field (because Vanilla Ice don't count)

Another friend; future (Mekhi Phifer) is the emcee that introduces the battles for a 45 second showdown, Rabbit is being ridiculed by the other rapper but when given his chance to shine, he freezes, the crowd look large and foreboding, he loses his nerve and flees from the club without rapping a single word.

So begins 8-mile.

Whether you dislike rap or not you have to admit that Eminem has been extremely influential within that particular music scene, his music sometimes controversial, sometimes funny but often ripping chunks out of something or someone. But that skill does not necessarily port over to another field, i.e. movies. So when I first heard about this film I was both excited and filled with trepidation at the same time.

But it would seem that I had nothing to worry about as when the credits started rolling I had been thoroughly entertained by a film that was in my opinion, honest, gritty and well acted

by everyone that had any screen time. And as for Eminem and his acting ability, well for the doubters out there I think that the man can act too. I guess my only concern about him is where can he realistically go in terms of other movies that would not just be a similar character but in other circumstances.But that maybe for another time, this review is about 8-mile itself; or rather the journey that "Rabbit" and his friends take during the relatively short timeframe of the film. "Rabbit" sees music as his way out of the trailer park living that he is going through, he writes his rhymes on scraps of paper and he dreams of making something of himself and getting out of there. His four main friends DJ Iz (De'Angelo Wilson), Sol George (Omar Benson Miller), Cheddar Bob (Evan Jones) and Future (Mekhi Phifer) are loyal buddies all wanting there own way out, all dreaming but except for maybe Future, Rabbit is the only one who is trying to achieve his goals. His friends are all dreamers who are dreaming of their way out of the hard life that they find themselves in, but not everyone seems to have the will or determination to put it into action, but they are all close friends and ultimately they will look out for each other.

I liked the group of friends, I could relate to them and their issues, and to some level their dreams about wanting more from life, all the guys came across as believable and real although Evan Jones as cheddar bob deserves special mention, he obviously looks up to "Rabbit" but comes across as a bit challenged but he is a likeable guy just wanting to be accepted by everyone around him. You can see this in the way he acts, you can see he looking for that acceptance and a needing to belong.

Obviously we need other characters within this story to it whole and this comes within four areas. We have his trailer home life which he is ashamed of, a drunken, bum of a mother Stephanie (Kim Bassinger), his baby sister Lily (Chloe Greenfield) whom he adores and Greg (Michael Shannon) who is his mother's boyfriend. We have all kind of emotions getting stirred up here, disgust at his mums seeming unwillingness to make things better for herself, love for his little sister whom he wants to protect from the bad things and conflict with Greg, mainly because he was in his class at school and feels the shame that having a kid his age sleeping with his mother brings.

We also have Wink (Eugene Byrd) who is a wheeler dealer type character who says that he has contacts within the business and who encourages "Rabbit" to pursue his goals. Then we have Alex (Brittany Murphy) who is a love interest within the film, her character also wants out of Detroit and is looking as modelling. And whilst it is never really suggested in the film there was a point when "Rabbit" was dropping her off for a photo shoot and I thought that somewhere it may involved pornography, and that she would be willing to do that in her quest for a better life, That however is something I read into the film, although I could be wrong as it isn't really suggested upon.

Lastly we have the ongoing conflict with The Free World which is a crew of rappers of whom Papa Doc (Anthony Mackie) is the leader, there are a number of altercations with this group throughout the film and they often throw up obstacles that our main protagonist needs to overcome, "Rabbit" also comes up against these guys in the rap battles. And for me it is the Rap Battles where this film elevates itself from good to very good. The bass line, the movement and cheering of the crowd, the cutting lyrics that brought me out in goose bumps as the raps gets harder and more personal, especially after "Rabbit" decides that he just doesn't give a damn anymore and will go for it. And go for it he does, I defy anyone who like hip-hop even just a little bit not to be nodding their head during the battle at the end of the film.

Hip Hop fans will lap this film up, drinking in the battles and rap scenes and imagining Eminem in an almost autobiographical role, the film may appeal to others but anyone that cannot stand Hip Hop should leave it be I think that the movie in some ways was written with Eminem in mind and is semi-autobiographical in some aspects, maybe that is what makes this film that much more enjoyable, perhaps Eminem was really just being himself in a role he had already lived through once before.

Picture:

A little grainy throughout but I actually wonder if that was intentional to give the movie a more gritty look, it certainly doesn't spoil the film. Interior shots seem to have a green hue to them, the darks are intense but never block details. Daytime scenes show a dull grey Detroit with a slightly washed out look, a bit like that early morning look when you have stepped out of a club at 5am, The colour palette really makes the place look bleak.

Sound:

Dialogue audio is fine and clear but of course the main thing here is the soundtrack, it is awesome, the rap soundtrack and also the battles with the instrumental cuts are great, all the speakers were used, the bass was deep and warming, absolutely great.

Extras:

Making of: at around 9 minutes I was disappointed with this and we don't really find out a lot of information.

Exclusive Rap Battles: Because some of the extras were getting bored between takes they threw up a real life competition for members of the audience to grab some rap time with Eminem, at around 23 minutes this is by far the best extra on the disc, some of the skills these guys have is amazing.

Music of 8 Mile: This is just a static picture plug for the music CDs

Enimen Superman Video: I like the song, not sure about the video, its ok I guess.

Overall:

A superb film, well acted with a great soundtrack although not really one for people who are not fans of the man or the genre.

I think that this film is the best- unforgettable..super acters, music and I love Eminem and hip hop, so I think this film is the best.

8 Mile - This film's great. I thought it would just be mainly rap songs put together, not that I don't like them, but it had a good storyline too. Not a lot actually happened, but it was still a really enjoyable film that I have watched several times. Eminem does a great job in this film, and I like the way that it is also partly based on his life. It's also quite 'real' as well, if you know what I mean. I thought it would be fake and OTT but it wasn't. It's funny with love and action added in as well, but you probably wouldn't like it if you don't like swearing or rap music!

Being a massive Eminem fan, I suppose I could be perceived as being a touch biased, but believe me - 8 Mile is not to be missed.

I was not really sure what to expect from this film. I wasn't under the misconception that this was a film about Marshall Mathers' life, but I knew it was based around the way he grew up.

For an incredibly rich and famous rapper, I think that maybe I expected him to be really playing up to the cameras, and showing off a little, but when I watched the film, I could see that he really wanted people to see what growing up was really like for him, showing the harsh reality of the racial divide, and the conditions in which some children really do grow up in.

STORYLINE

Jimmy Smith JR, AKA B Rabbit, is a young white male growing up in a predominantly black area. Jimmy has masses of talent when it comes to rapping, but has a struggle ahead of him to gain the respect from black rappers who doubt his skill due to his skin colour. They do not believe that a "white boy" could possibly be as skilful as them in their own game.

Things get tougher for Jimmy when he enters a "battle", which is a rapping competition in which two rappers have to "freestyle" against each other and the crowd must decide who goes through to the next round. Winning a battle is very important to a rapper - he gains respect and becomes known, which is vital if they hope to make it big. In this battle he freezes up due to nerves, and cannot think of what to say. He ends up being booed off stage, which is a terrible blow to his chances of success.

The rest of the film follows the week after his first battle, and the events that happen in Jimmy's life. He has to move back in with his mother and younger sister Lily in a trailer park, after splitting with his girlfriend. His mother is an alcoholic and is dating a man who Jimmy went to school with.

He works at New Detroit Stamping, which is a boring monotonous job that he doesn't earn much for. Greg describes it as a place that only "ex-cons and welfare moms" work at.

However, Jimmy needs this job to save up money for studio time so that he can record his demo.

His friends are known as the "313", due to the area code where they live, and include Future, played by Mekhi Phifer, who hosts the battles, which take place at a venue called "The Shelter", Cheddar Bob, who means well but is not very bright, Ez, Ez's brother Sol, and Wink.

His enemies are known as the "Freeworld" and there are several fight scenes involving them.

There is also a love interest for Jimmy in the form of Alex, played by Britany Murphy, so even if you are not into rap, there is a deeper storyline there too, and there's nothing like a good romance.

At a crucial time in the film, Jimmy is betrayed by one of his "friends" but I can't give too much away...

The whole story is working towards the climatic final battle, where Jimmy has the chance to prove his skill, get respect for his gang, and take his enemies down a peg or two... but will it go according to plan? Will Jimmy freeze up again? You'll have to watch the film to find out!

Lots of people have said to me that they thought the ending was disappointing. To appreciate the ending, you have to be able to have a little bit of imagination. Without giving too much away, you have to be able to think about what would happen next for yourself. It really is quite obvious, it could only really go two ways, and if they extended the film to show what did happen, then I feel it would be pointless and make the film unnecessarily long. You'll have to make your own mind up about that however.

I really love the film, and the battles at the end always give me goose bumps. There's some parts that I can't bear to watch, for instance when Jimmy gets beaten up, because you really feel sorry for him. Some of the best parts are when he is with his little sister. He is very sweet with her and it is very touching, like when he sings to her. It really shows a sensitive side to Jimmy. You know he is a sensible lad underneath, despite the antics he gets up to with his friends, because he tries to talk sense into his mother several times. He just wants to make the best of his life, which is far from easy.

I think it's a touching film, with action, humour and love, and whether you are an Eminem fan or not, it's definitely one to watch.

What a film! 8 Mile is just genius from start to finish, it transports you to another world, that of the mid 90's detroit rap scene. Eminem gives a top performance (pretty much of himself) as a struggling rapper trying to get out the trailer park and onto the ladder to fame and fortune. The Movie soundtrack is sweet with tracks from the likes of NWA, Mobb Deep and Outkast. Watch out for Kim Basinger as Eminems mum as well, there's a few amusing if a little off putting bits in there. Britney Murpphy is also a find as her facial expressions at points could win oscars by themselves.