8
Mile
2002
USA
Director: Curtis
Hanson
Cast: Eminem, Kim
Basinger,
Brittany Murphy
Eminem plays Rabbit,
a factory worker in early nineties Detroit. His girlfriend had left
him,
so he's taken his daughter back to his mom's trailer on the 8 Mile
estate.
His mom, played by Kim Basinger, is about to be evicted, but is pining
all her hopes on an abusive, retarded alcoholic boyfriend, and won't
let
Rabbit get in the way.
But by night, Rabbit becomes the
rapper
B-Rabbit, and sometimes, when he can be coaxed into it by his posse, he
takes part in battles, trading insults with Detroit's top local MCs.
His
friends tell him that his rhymes are the bomb, but he's nervy. He has
too
many responsibilities to juggle; his daughter, his job, and his mother,
and a new girlfriend, played by Brittany Murphy. His life, like
Detroit,
seems to be crumbling around him. Yet we know he makes it out somehow.
When I heard about
this
project, I was intrigued for two reasons. Firstly, because having heard
Eminem's characterizations on My Fault and Stan, I was
sure
that he'd make a perfectly able actor. And second, because of Curtis
Hanson's
LA
Confidential and the excellent Wonder Boys. Both are
complex
and stylish movies with a dry humour, and in both cases, Hanson managed
to coax great performances from a sometimes eccentric cast. In this
respect,
8
Mile did not disappoint: Eminem's performance is confident with a
charismatic
screen presence, and Kim Basinger steers the right course between
vulnerability
and utter self absorption as Rabbit's mother. However, the story is
familiar
enough to anyone who has followed Eminem's career, and the script adds
little to it. The direction is likewise uninspired. One scene, where
Rabbit
chokes at a battle, is used three times, the camera panning identically
around him.
David
Robertson is a founding member of the iconclastic Edinburgh band
Magicdrive,
more about which can be found on their web site, including buying
direct,
lyrics, and mp3 downloads!
