8 Mile (2002)
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76% of critics liked it
(193 reviews) -
54% of users liked it
(30,674,325 ratings)
Controversial rap star Eminem makes his acting debut in this hard-edged urban drama, inspired in part by incidents from the musician's own life. Jimmy Smith (Eminem), known to his friends as Rabbit, is a young man trying to make his way out of the burned-out shell of inner-city Detroit.… More Controversial rap star Eminem makes his acting debut in this hard-edged urban drama, inspired in part by incidents from the musician's own life. Jimmy Smith (Eminem), known to his friends as Rabbit, is a young man trying to make his way out of the burned-out shell of inner-city Detroit. Rabbit's entire life has been a hard climb, and it certainly hasn't gotten any easier lately; Rabbit has just been dumped by his girlfriend, forcing him to move back in with his emotionally unstable mother, Stephanie (Kim Basinger), and he's getting along especially poorly with Stephanie's new boyfriend. Rabbit has a factory job that's tough, demeaning, and doesn't pay especially well, and he's convinced his skills as a rapper are his only real hope at a better life. Rabbit makes music with a crew of DJ's and MC's who call themselves Three One Third, among them his close friend Future (Mekhi Phifer), but his status as a white kid making music in a predominantly African-American community and culture is extremely intimidating, and after Rabbit freezes up in the midst of an MC battle, he's convinced he's missed his chance and that he's doomed to lead a marginal life as a factory rat for the rest of his days. With the help of his friends, and his new girlfriend Alex (Brittany Murphy), Rabbit struggles to work up the courage and the confidence to take one more shot at making his dream a reality. 8 Mile was shot on location in Detroit; the name refers to 8 Mile Road, a thoroughfare along the city's perimeter which effectively separates the middle-class suburban neighborhoods from the lower-class inner-city. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Curtis Hanson
- Written By
- Scott Silver, Jesse Wigutow
- Genres
- Drama
- In Theaters
- Nov 8, 2002 Wide
- On DVD
- Mar 18, 2003
- Studio
- Universal Pictures
Critic Reviews
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Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
The movie has some of the braggadocio of its white-trash hero, building to its competitive climax as if it were a gladiatorial sporting event, and it carried me all the way.
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David Ansen, Newsweek
At its best, 8 Mile illuminates the culture out of which rap springs, at once an art form, provocation and survival mechanism.
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, Time Out
A hesitant presence whose vulnerability pulls you in, Eminem emerges as a mainstream movie star and effectively lays to rest the spooks of Slim Shady: impressionable parents will love this eminently responsible film.
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Peter Rainer, New York Magazine
Who could have predicted that a rap movie starring Eminem would, at its best, be one of the year's sweetest joyrides?
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Stanley Kauffmann, The New Republic
The story is all right: The picture's real excellence is its portrait of the society in which it takes place.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Eminem
as Jimmy Smith Jr. AKA Rabbit
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Kim Basinger
as Stephanie Smith
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Brittany Murphy
as Alex
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Mekhi Phifer
as Future
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Evan Jones
as Cheddar Bob
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Omar Benson Miller
as Sol George
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Eugene Byrd
as Wink
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De'Angelo Wilson
as DJ Iz
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Anthony Mackie
as Papa Doc
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Taryn Manning
as Janeane
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Michael Shannon
as Greg Buehl
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Chloe Greenfield
as Lily
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Craig Chandler
as Paul
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Paul Bates
as Manny
- Jennifer Kitchen
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Brandon T. Jackson
as Club Patron
- Proof
- Marshal Mathers
- Marshall Mathers








