8 Mile [DVD] [2003]

Jimmy 'B-Rabbit' Smith Jr (Mathers) is not a happy young man. He's just split from his girlfriend, has had to move back in with his mother (which mortifies him) and her boyfriend (who he hates), has a dead-end job and his dream of getting out of the squalor of Detroit's trailer parks through his talent for rapping is being hampered by his lack of confidence and open hostility from black audiences and other rappers. Over the course of the film we see him struggle to take charge of his life and find his place in the world he longs to be an accepted part of.

Mathers is very good in his first feature film. His scenes with his friends and his mother (Kim Basinger) are realistic and he is incredibly natural and tender in his scenes with the young actress who plays Jimmy's little sister but it is in the freestyle rapping 'battles' that he truly shines.

The rapping scenes are intense. It is to his credit that Mathers makes you feel how nervous Jimmy is; how important these moments are for him. You don't need to be a huge rap/eminem fan to appreciate what is going on and what is at stake. The final showdown is breathtaking.

The extras include a run of the mill 'making of' feature and some rap 'battles' between some of the extras and Eminem which didn't make it into the movie but are worth a look. There is also the video for Superman in all its sleazy glory and a DVD Rom option to access further bits and pieces.

I really enjoyed it and at this price it is great value. If you like Eminem or enjoy rap/hip-hop or even just the timeless story of the underdog struggling to succeed, you should find something here to like.

Ok, so I had absolutely no idea what people were saying for vast amounts of the film, I just managed to keep a hold of what was being rapped during the 'battles' and I followed the story by keeping my wits and looking for advice from the other people watching.

The story basically follows the young white rapper 'Bunny Rabbit' (How this guy got into as few fights as we saw with that name I didn't know) as he struggled, not so much to get noticed and recognised, but to pull out of himself the raw talent he and his friends knew he had.

Until this film he was an unknown, but respected within his group as good. By the end of this film by overcoming a variety of problems, being knocked back, getting a little luck, but overall walking in the right direction and trying to keep life on track (in a very subtle unspoken way too) he becomes a man who has opened a door, expressed his talent, proven he can cut it.

At times some of the things that happen appear almost random, without justification or motive, but then, that is not to say its wrong. That is obviously the way life works here. Its not so much a feature film as a semi fictional documentary to give you some insight, some fun and some shocks. Its certainly enjoyable whether a fan of Eminem or not, in fact the only song from the soundtrack that seems to appear in the film is the title track. Its true if you hate rap you are going to hate this film, but liking it is not so much a requirement as an added benefit.

My only real down point was that come the end, it finished. Abruptly. Walking off 'into the sunset' goes our young Eminem with so many unanswered questions. What comes next? What happens to his friends? Where does 'the girl' go? But while I thought about this I think I concluded that its good it finished like that. You can make up your own answers as to where the story goes next and that's not a bad thing in this instance.