The Big Picture
- 8 Mile takes a grounded and unglamorous approach to its story, capturing the feel of a downtrodden corner of America perfectly.
- The realistic ending of 8 Mile is a celebration of even small victories on the path to success.
- Eminem’s performance in 8 Mile challenges perceptions and adds a hopeful undertone to the film.
What more needs to be said about “Lose Yourself”? It’s one of the most iconic songs in hip-hop, with some of the most inspiring lyrics ever committed to music whirling their way off a beat that’ll make anyone want to run a mile. Over twenty years later, the Academy Award-winning song remains just as popular as ever, and the immense amounts of acclaim retrospective reviews have heaped upon it have cemented it as one of its era's defining songs. It might not be the greatest song of Eminem’s career (that honor will always belong to the mournful but powerful “Stan”), but it’s undoubtedly his most popular. Curtains close.
Except there’s a lot more to say about “Lose Yourself”, namely the film to which it owes its existence, 8 Mile. Directed by the late great Curtis Hanson, the film follows blue-collar worker Jimmy "B-Rabbit" Smith Jr. (Eminem) as he dreams of escaping his bleak life in a rundown trailer park in Warren, Michigan to become a successful rapper. A premise loosely inspired by Eminem’s own difficulties growing up in the neighboring city of Detroit. Intermixed with this are his struggles to provide for his younger sister Lily (Chloe Greenfield) and his alcoholic mother (Kim Basinger) while dealing with her latest boyfriend Greg (Michael Shannon). His relationship with a woman named Alex (Brittany Murphy) becomes the sole ray of light in his otherwise dreary life, if only for a short time.
On the surface, it sounds like a usual Hollywood crowd-pleaser that studios like to trot out during the yearly awards season, but Hanson chooses to avoid the hackneyed glamour of his competitors for a more grounded approach, with Eminem’s presence giving it a sense of authenticity few films can replicate. It might not seem so on first impressions, but 8 Mile is as inspiring as any line in “Lose Yourself”, and remains the perfect film for those needing a healthy dose of motivation.
8 Mile
R
The people of Detroit know 8 Mile as the city limit, a border, a boundary. It is also a psychological dividing line that separates Jimmy Smith Jr. (Eminem) from where and who he wants to be. A provocative fictional examination of a critical week in Jimmy's life.
- Release Date
- November 8, 2002
- Director
- Curtis Hanson
- Writers
- Scott Silver
- Cast
- Eminem , Brittany Murphy , Mekhi Phifer , Kim Basinger , Evan Jones , Omar Benson Miller
- Runtime
- 110 minutes
- Main Genre
- Drama
'8 Mile' Has a Grounded Approach That Is Unglamorous — And It Works
As previously mentioned, the rags-to-riches plot of 8 Mile means it does have the whiff of familiarity for anyone with even a passing interest in film, but screenwriter Scott Silver happily shakes up the formula to keep things fresh. Silver (who earned himself praise for his work on Joker) avoids the gloss of a typical Hollywood production in favor of a far more ugly script, one where even its most tender scenes are coated in a thick layer of dirt and gloom. It captures the feel of this downtrodden corner of America perfectly, a place forgotten by the outside world with only a small group of dejected people to call it home. The Shelter, the club where Jimmy competes in rap battles against the city’s underground hip hop community, looks like it’s being held together by duct tape and two bits of string, an aesthetic upheld by the rest of the city.
The film does not progress to a more extravagant locale for its grand finale, instead sticking with the Shelter from its first scene all the way to its last, a decision that encapsulates the scaled-back approach of 8 Mile. Likewise, the film does not end with Jimmy signing a record contract after catching the attention of a famous producer who dropped by the venue on a whim, with his mother finally realizing the amazing talent her son possesses, as she promises to always put her children first going forward. Instead, he simply beats his rival in a rap battle, exchanges goodbyes with Alex, and then returns to his job at a car factory like nothing had ever happened.
The Ending and Story of '8 Mile' Is Realistic and Not Sensationalized
At first glance, it might appear to be a rather downbeat ending. Jimmy may have proven his skills as a rapper, but he still ends the film in roughly the same place as when he started it. He’s earned the title of greatest rapper within the vicinity of the titular 8 Mile Road, but to the rest of the world he’s still just another 9-5 worker in a sea of millions. Considering he also fails to win the heart of Alex, some viewers may be left wondering what the point of it all was, but it’s here where the real magic of 8 Mile lies. Rather than sacrificing the film’s authenticity for the sake of some benign entertainment, Hanson chooses to keep everything firmly in reality.
As much as we might like to think differently, dreams do not come true overnight. They can take months, years, or even decades to come to fruition, requiring levels of strength and determination that can prove overwhelming for many people. However, it’s important to remember that even a single step is still a step closer to your goal, even if it may not always feel like it. 8 Mile recognizes this, and its refusal to bestow fame and glory onto Jimmy despite him still emerging on top provides a valuable lesson for everyone watching. When Jimmy leaves the Shelter he has taken his first steps on the path to success – baby steps that amount to nothing more than a few tenuous centimeters in a marathon – but steps nevertheless, and that’s still a victory worth celebrating.
Eminem Showed His Doubters That He Could Not Only Rap But Also Act in '8 Mile'
The casting of Eminem reinforces this belief immeasurably. 8 Mile released in November 2002, a time when Eminem was on top of the world. His 2000 album The Marshall Mathers LP had become his first album to sell one million copies in its first week of release, and the critical and commercial success of both it and 2002’s The Eminem Show had confirmed him as his generation's most successful rapper. However, you didn’t have to search far to find heavy criticism directed at his lyrics and perchance to cause offense at every juncture LINK, even if said criticism had only increased in notability.
This conflict about whether Eminem is a rapper-poet who gave a voice to the American underclass or just a degenerate musician whose transgressive art is intended only to cause outrage was at its peak in the early 2000s, and generated volumes of discourse that hadn’t been felt since the counterculture movement of the 60s.
It’s interesting to watch 8 Mile given this context, as the Eminem we see here seems far too subdued to have become one of the music industry’s most controversial performers. For much of the film, he shows a remarkable level of restraint in his performance, portraying Jimmy as someone closed off from all but his closest friends. Some of his greatest moments are conveyed without a single line of dialogue, such as during his early rap battles when he’s still battling his chronic stage fright, revealing a vulnerability that seems unthinkable for someone like Eminem to possess.
But hidden beneath this exterior is a more aggressive side that smacks closer to the real Eminem, ready to strike whenever the situation calls for it. It’s a nuanced performance that allows him to survive the transition from musician to actor more effectively than most, and while much of this comes from playing a character who is essentially a fictionized version of himself, there’s no doubt he is perfectly suited for this role.
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Although '8 Mile' Doesn't Have a Hollywood Ending, Eminem's LIfe Proves It's Possible
But his casting does far more than silence those who dismissed him as just a shock artist, but also reinforces the film’s core message. Anyone who watches 8 Mile will be aware of Eminem’s success, and seeing him play a character so heavily inspired by himself adds a whole new perspective to the film. Jimmy is a man who is merely surviving, not living, and watching him struggle his way through life while dreaming a dream that deep down he knows will never happen would (under normal circ*mstances) make for some heartbreaking viewing, but knowing that Eminem did break free from his roots to achieve the impossible adds a hopeful undertone to the entire film.
While 8 Mile is not strictly autobiographical, the film draws so much from his life (Eminem did indeed grow up near 8 Mile Road and participated in rap battles at a venue called the Shelter) that it’s impossible to separate him from Jimmy Smith Jr., a rare moment of perfect synchronicity between an actor and their character. Jimmy may not realize he’s taken his first steps on the road to success, but we do, and it transforms what might appear to be a rather drab ending into something truly special.
If there’s one thing that defines both “Lose Yourself” and 8 Mile, it’s their stringent belief that someone must never lose faith in themselves. It might sound like a rather schmaltzy message that every film and their dog has already proclaimed, but often the most important lessons are worth repeating. But while “Lose Yourself” is unashamedly upfront about its meaning, 8 Mile opts for a quieter approach. It might seem like Jimmy makes little if any progress across the two hours we spend with him, but the reality is quite the opposite. Achieving your idea of paradise is a slow and methodical process, but even the tiniest of steps can one day blossom into something spectacular. It’s a message everyone should know, and by conveying it through a grounded narrative with a performer who is one of the greatest examples of a rags-to-riches success story, 8 Mile becomes a film that is more than capable of standing alongside its soundtrack.
8 Mile is available to rent on Amazon Prime.
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