Hey folks, Harry here in Austin, Tejas giving you the latest from our Eastern European spy du jour, Dr. Strangelove, a very sensible first strike advocate, obviously an advisor to Bush Jr, and sometimes film critic for AICN! How cool is that diversity? Pretty sharp! Anyway he really dug 8 MILE, and talks for quite some time about all that made it a smile for him. Here ya go...
Hey Harry, Dr. Strangelove here with a review of 8 Mile… I hope you like and enjoy it as much as I did…
8Mile road separates the predominantly black, impoverished, crime infested, ghetto hoods of urban Detroit from the white, well-off suburban neighborhoods.
8 MILE is also the title to the much anticipated and talked about Eminem movie produced by Brian Grazer/Imagine Entertainment and directed by Curtis Hanson whose recent directorial outings include such esteemed works as LA Confidential and Wonder Boys. Considering their opus I was surprised upon first hearing that Hanson would be directing and Grazer producing an Eminem movie, it seemed like a rather unlikely collaboration. I’d never expect a director of Hanson’s repute doing it, but instead some Paul W.S. Anderson, Simon West or likewise clone directing Eminem’s cinematic debut in some mindless action feast or Glitter like fiasco. Yet after seeing it, I have realized that’s exactly the thing they weren’t doing with 8 Mile, they didn’t take the easy road.
8 MILE is no shallow extravaganza, but rather a cleverly devised, appealing, contemporary urban drama with fairly elegantly intergraded rap bits here and there, that serve as a device of expression for Eminem’s character Jimmy ”The Rabbit” Smith, a fictional charachter loosley based on the rappers own life story and his expirence breaking out in rap as a white kid from Detroit. In a modern retelling of an age old story all of us can more or less relate to, Jimmy is a man down on his luck, he lives in a trailer park, he’s frustrated and angry, he’s left almost all to himself with just a few close knit friends and he’s anxious and scared. He uses rap as his means of emotional and expressive deliverance from his uncertainties and harsh, brutal reality of metropolitan Detroit, south of 8 Mile.
Jimmy is a nice guy. He’s devoted to his crew, modest, hard working and intelligent. Jimmy is the kind of guy everyone should want for a friend. Regrettably everything in Jimmy’s life seems to have conspired against him, from living in a hostile environment to the white trash, addict mother and her equally trashy boyfriend. In spite of these dire circumstances of day to day life, Jimmy manages to immerse himself in his music and hopes he’ll break out and leave his mark on the rap world, at first he’s terrified of performing and ridiculed from the rap community. But regardless of all these setbacks and tribulations Jimmy just doesn’t give up, he thanks in part to help from his friends and great self determination, after great difficulty, a lot of identity searching and much frustration ultimately succeeds, thus transcending from the grim and ominous surroundings.
As surprising as Curtis Hanson directing an Eminem movie is Eminem’s acting in a Curtis Hanson film. Eminem is a good performer, he doesn’t come off too likeable but he’s got his act worked out, yet onstage ability doesn’t always translate well in onscreen skill, in Eminem’s case it has, as he certainly seems adept to big screen. As much as I loathed Mariah’s ridiculous acting attempt in Glitter that much I’m fond of what Eminem did with the character of Jimmy, I’m sure in no small part thanks to the wise guiding hand of Curtis Hanson. Amazing as it sounds Eminem comes of as one of the most likeable characters I’ve seen on film this year, in Jimmy there’s none of that overdrive over the top cockiness Slim Shady is infamous for. The performance is good and efficient, and thou I’m not inclined to call it Oscar worthy, Eminem’s acting debut definitely been a satisfactory surprise.
Sure, you can say it’s easy to basically play yourself in a movie, but Vanilla Ice playing himself in wretched Cool as Ice is a testament that isn’t quite so. Eminem seems like a natural without a trace of overacting train wrecks and ego trips musicians turned actors are notorious, again I’m fairly sure thanks to Hanson’s work. Efficient characterization engages the viewer, you feel Jimmy’s pain and you sense his joys, thru the movie the audience almost becomes somewhat of a cheerleader as the lead goes thru trials and tribulations that pave the road to achievement. Just like Wonder Boys or LA Confidential, 8 MILE is a dramatic success and a textbook example of characterization.
Eminem’s seconded by strong showings by other actors, thou they never steal the limelight from him they all play exquisitely profiled and detailed characters. Kim Basinger is back in her LA Confidential level of work playing the trashy ghetto fabulous trailer park queen Stephanie Smith, also loosely based on Eminem’s own mother Debbie Mathers. After seeing Kim’s performance as the character you really do understand what Eminem wants to say when he sings:
I'm sorry momma
I never meant to hurt you
I never meant to make you cry, but tonight
I'm cleaning out my closet
Let’s just hope this time Kim can stay on this level of work and not drop back working exploitation like BLESS THE CHILD like she did after her comeback with LA Confidential, or is she cursed to have great performances just in Curtis Hanson movies.
Brittany Murphy is also in, playing Jimmy's emotionally volatile love interest Alex. The camera loves Brittany, but she also has been doing a string of good and memorable performances ever since Girl, Interrupted thru DON’T say a word. In 8 MILE she manages to build up on that sustained showing of talent and deliver a well-built supporting yet crucial performance, thou she’s not given much material to work with she delivers when she’s on screen. With her work in 8 Mile, Brittany has confirmed her status as one of the most remarkable young talents working today. Also worthy of mention is Mekhi Phifer who delivered a great performance playing Jimmy’s buddy David “Future” Porter. I’m quite sure we’ll hear more of Mekhi Phifer.
8 MILE also has one additional player, the city of Detroititself. You see it, you breathe it, you feel it and you see the effect it has on characters. Unlike productions that substitute US cities for Canadian ones or soundstages because of budget issues, the producers on 8 MILE have decided to shoot the movie inDetroititself, thus enriching it with much additional flavor of existent locations. Shooting Vancouver for New York always ends up looking oddly and sterile, you just know it doesn’t look right nor are film makers able to exploit uniqueness locations city’s have. Every city has its own unique look, texture and social structure, the authentic, distinct locations and conflicts of urban Detroit presented in the movie greatly help viewers immerse themselves in the overall cinematic experience. High production values and an eye for location always help, and when a movie is working to be great, they’re even more indispensable.
Curtis Hanson is a seasoned and capable director; he proficiently guides this film, the actors, the characters they portray and the script thru the whole 2 hours of its running time. Hanson is an actor’s director and that’s obvious in 8 MILE with a number of great performances and rich characterization. We care about them and we identify with them. That’s something in what not every movie succeeds in as successfully.
8 MILE is a good movie who should not just interest adolescent Eminem fans, but also their parents who want to know what all the hoopla’s all about. Like another Imagine production, last years A Beautiful Mind, 8 MILE is designed to appeal to a wide audience, yet I’m sure Eminem’s hoards of fans will be the ones who will ultimately make 8 MILE and its accompanying soundtrack a success.
