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 Director
: Curtis Hanson
Starring
: Eminem, Kim Basinger, Mekhi Phifer, Omar Benson Miller,
Brittany Murphy, Chloe Greenfield, De'Angelo Wilson.
Picture
2.35:1 Anamorphic, DD and DTS 5.1, Single-Side, Dual-Layer,
Keep Case
Running
Time : 111 mins
The
story:
If
the streets had a voice, this would be the story they'd
tell.
Set in 1995 in the bleak, urban battle zone of Detroit,
8 Mile follows the struggles of a young man who is desperate
to make a better life for himself. Jimmy Smith, Jr. (Eminem),
better known as Rabbit, is destined for a life of squalor.
Living in a cramped trailer with his deadbeat mom (Kim Basinger),
Rabbit works in a factory to make ends meet. His only outlet
is hip-hop. Possessing a talent for freestyle rapping, Rabbit
still hasn't managed to unleash his true potential. But
his best friend, Future (Mekhi Phifer) is determined to
make that happen. Future forces Rabbit to enter a freestyle
battle that he blew the week before, giving him another
chance at redemption and a golden opportunity to better
his life.
The
summary:
Curtis
Hanson continues to build on his LA Confidential success
story with this gritty tale of urban decay and the struggle
to transcend it. This film could so easily have ended up
as a weakly interpreted biopic of Eminem. Instead it is
an inspiring film with much to say.
Eminem
gives an effortless but ultimately good performance as Jimmy
"Rabbit" Smith, a struggling rapper who wishes
to leave behind his trailer park existence. So what if for
most of the movie he seems to be playing himself (much denied
in the press), he still pulls off a believable performance
and proves that he can be as versatile as anyone in the
industry. His on screen persona is a lot more introverted
than we have all grown accustomed to but does reflect his
true personality in the heated Rap battles that frame the
beginning and end of the movie. Mekhi Phifer is another
of the good points in this film and is splendid as Jimmy's
friend and MC, Future. He moulds well into the role and
is very much the glue that holds the narrative together
throughout as Jimmy embarks on his slow journey.
What
made the movie for me was the hip-hop insight, Curtis Hanson
really did his research on the dialogue and explanation
of the hip-hop culture. At times it has an almost documentary
feel and goes a long way to explain the influences and culture
that give birth to rapping. By the end of it you will actually
realise just how tough and intelligent it really is and
I defy anyone to not feel a little bit closer to the genre.
The
all-too-familiar scenario - a superb transfer from Universal
but the disc disappoints in the extras department. Both
picture and audio are well above average, but it seems that
the studios all too keen to put out a minimal selection
of extras and then sell a special edition later on. Despite
all this, the film is worth the price of the disc and comes
highly recommended.
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