|
 |
|
8 Mile
***1/2
Cinema
Reviews - Week of January 17, 2003
Rated on a 4-star scale. Certificate 15. USA.
110 minutes. Directed by Curtis Hanson. Written by Scott Silver. Starring
Eminem, Kim Basinger, Brittany Murphy, Mekhi Phifer, Chloe Greenfield, Evan
Jones, Omar Benson Miller, D'Angelo Wilson, Eugene Byrd, Taryn
Manning.
It's always easier to overhear stupid conversations
than intelligent ones, because pretentious theorists make a point of talking
loudly. They think they're wise, they want people to hear them and they want
to make it seem incidental. I was at a press show of another movie the other
day, and some guy who I hope isn't a reviewer for long was talking about
"8 Mile". He said that he was convinced by the lead performance, but wasn't
sure if it was good acting.
The first implication is that white rap star Eminem,
in his first major film role, is more or less playing himself in this movie.
The second is that to play oneself requires no skill at all, and can be done
by anyone. Doesn't the loud talker know that any convincing performing requires
craft or at least attention, and bad acting rings false no matter who is
being played?
The misconception that Eminem plays himself is
one that is more widespread, and harder to shake off. It's also understandable.
He plays a guy called Jimmy 'Rabbit' Smith, distantly dreaming of making
it in the music biz while working minimum wage shifts at a plant "for ex-cons
and welfare moms". As the film opens, he's just broken up with his girlfriend,
has given her the car, and is rooming with his mess of a mother (Kim Basinger).
She lives in a trailer along 8 Mile Road, the Detroit dividing line between
rich and poor. Just a few years ago, Em's own situation was not all that
different.
Jimmy hangs around with a crew that consists of
a not unpredictable make-up. There's Future (Mekhi Phifer), who emcees rap
'battles' at a local club, is convinced that Jimmy has talent and serves
as his confident counsel. Sol (Omar Benson Miller) is the loudmouth of the
group, an armchair revolutionary who waxes lyrical about how boys in the
hood need to recognise their situation and rise up against oppression. Cheddar
Bob (Evan Jones) is sort of the comic relief character; he's a Pretty Fly-style
white guy who has a good heart, but tries too darn hard to be
cool.
The guys drive around, talk a lot about what they're
gonna do when they make it, and never seem to make any actual moves at getting
out of their ruts. A local guy called Wink (Eugene Byrd) says he has contacts,
but they can't be sure about him, and they don't like how chummy he is with
a rival group of rappers known as Free World. The movie is about how Jimmy
gets tired of sitting around, knowing in private he has talent and never
having the nerve to show it off. Everything sets up the climax, where he
decides to go for one of those local battles. It's not a ticket to stardom,
but working up the courage to do something is at least a
start.
"8 Mile" has been compared to "Rocky", and although
the films are similar in their textures, the trajectory of this one has more
in common with "The Karate Kid". It's not about a small-time player who suddenly
gets a shot at the big leagues, but a guy still trying to make the small-time.
Fame is not going to hurl itself at him. He just needs to earn a little respect,
and prove that he can achieve some kind of victory, especially to
himself.
Although the characters are a familiar bunch,
and their dialogue consists of a helluva lot of easy slang like "dog", "nigga"
and "w'ssup", this really doesn't matter all that much. Curtis Hanson, who
also directed such great recent pictures as "Wonder Boys" and "L.A.
Confidential", shoots his film in a handheld, almost documentary style, using
the light of winter and an emphasis on greys and blues. It's subdued,
down-to-earth, easy to relate with and fascinating.
So is the Eminem performance. We are used to seeing
him as a loudmouthed, ironic bad boy, and those who have not listened to
his music may not realise that he developed that persona as a defence against
being depressed, angry and at the bottom of the barrel. Here, he summons
things from deep inside himself to shed away ego and portray a calm, frustrated,
worried kid who doesn't even talk too much. There's a scene where someone
taunts Jimmy with a Vanilla Ice reference; we laugh it out of hand, and the
fact that we do is an instinctive affirmation that Eminem is not some sanitised
pop star of the moment, milking the publicity train while it lasts. He has
not chosen to be in a vehicle, like Britney Spears or the long-forgotten
Mr. Ice. "8 Mile" is a real movie, and a very good one at
that.
Still, there remains the confusion that this is
the story of Eminem's early life. Maybe "8 Mile" will play better in years
to come, when its slang has dropped out of the mainstream and its lead actor
is a less prominent figure. People could catch it on TV, get drawn in without
baggage and latch onto its message of daring to take a chance. Or perhaps
the mistake of thinking that the movie is directly about Eminem will help
audiences take implication and inspiration. If small shots did wonders for
him, couldn't they do the same for us?
COPYRIGHT©
2003 Ian Waldron-Mantgani
2003 Reviews
(alphabetical)
2003 Reviews (by star
rating)
Archive of all cinema reviews
(alphabetical)
Review Archive
Index
UK
Critic main page
|
|
![[Image]](http://www.ukcritic.com/posbanr2.gif)