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Eminem, Kim Basinger, Brittany Murphy, Mekhi Phifer, Evan Jones ... see more see more... , Omar Benson Miller , Eugene Byrd , De'Angelo Wilson , Anthony Mackie , Taryn Manning , Michael Shannon , Chloe Greenfield , Craig Chandler , Paul Bates , Jennifer Kitchen , Brandon T. Jackson , Proof , Marshal Mathers , Marshall Mathers

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, i... read more read more...s 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

Flixster Users

54% liked it

30,674,325 ratings

Critics

76% liked it

193 critics

R, 1 hr. 51 min.

Directed by: Curtis Hanson

Release Date: November 8, 2002

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DVD Release Date: March 18, 2003

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Flixster Reviews (1,027,120)

  • fb1442511448
    July 28, 2012
    fb1442511448
    Knitty-gritty portrayal of the rapper "Eminem's" life and hardships. The ensemble including, Murphy, Phifer and Basinger, made exceptional performances and led the way into this mean-mugging adaptation of hardship in unpaved streets of Detroit. 4.5/5
  • xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    December 24, 2011
    xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    Lose Yourself In the Music

    Great Film! Enjoyed it alot! Go watch it if you haven't yet! Won an Oscar for best song too!

    A rap version of "Saturday Night Fever." B-Rabbit, a wannabe rapper from the wrong side of Detroit's 8 Mile, has problems: he dumps his girlfriend when she te... read morells him she's pregnant; to save money to make a demo tape, he moves into his alcoholic mom's trailer; his job's a dead end, and he's just choked at the local head-to-head rap contest. Things improve when he meets Alex - an aspiring model headed for New York - and a fast-talking pal promises to set up the demo. Then new setbacks: Alex isn't faithful, mom rejects him, rifts surface with his friends, and he's mugged by rivals. Everything hinges on the next rap showdown at the club. Can B-Rabbit pull truth out of his cap?
  • fb729949618
    September 30, 2011
    fb729949618
    My dad who hates rap even loved 8 Mile! Very well put together and the rap battles scenes are epic.
  • TheGame90
    September 18, 2011
    TheGame90
    Am I the only one who like this movie?
  • DreamExtractor
    August 30, 2011
    DreamExtractor
    8 Mile was an amazing film and a pure work of genius. Fans of rap music (like me) are going to be blown away with the music and acting, I was completely surprised that Eminem is great actor and this movie is great, a soon to be classic, and I loved it.
  • spielberg00
    August 12, 2011
    spielberg00
    Good+
  • theoneandonlybg
    August 11, 2011
    theoneandonlybg
    8 Mile was the first "gangster" film I had seen, and I was fairly impressed. The story tells of Jimmy "Rabbit" Smith and his attempts to leave the area of Detroit known as 8 Mile. This involves him trying to rap and get a record deal. But problems arise making this hard, an becom... read moreing the main focus of the film.

    The film has a good, solid story, some brilliant acting, amazing rap battles, but with the major let down being the unsatisfactory ending. It seems that it should have carried on longer rather than ending where it did. However, as far as I can see, this is the only real major flaw in the film. All round, I would highly recommend this film to anyone.
  • fb733768972
    July 30, 2011
    fb733768972
    This film provides desire, hate, betrayal, crime, violence, romance, brutality, and most of all, heart. 8 Mile is filled with passion as Jimmy Smith tries to overcome his life problems and deal with them on the streets as he fights for a record deal and works double shifts to kee... read morep his life in line. From family issues, to gang beatings, to lost love, this film represents what all films should have these days, soul; However, I believe that they could have added a little more backstory to this man's life, seeing as this film only revolves around events that took place rather than how he got there. At times it seems to get repetitive and the same old stuff happens, but looking past all that, this is just one great film. I thoroughly enjoyed this story about someone trying to break out of a low-life part of town. I felt real emotions here and even though this film is not perfect, it will be hard to forget!
  • TheDudeLebowski65
    July 16, 2011
    TheDudeLebowski65
    I'm going to try to keep the genre of music genre that I love out of this (Heavy Metal music) out of this review, and focus solely on this film. I was anxious to see this film when it came out, I was interested to see what Eminem would do as an actor, and well... He didn't deliv... read moreer on that side. I've never liked rap really. I think it's a shallow form of music with just one message, and most of it sounds the same. I stated early in this review that I am a metalhead, but I'll tell it hasn't influenced my decision to like or hate the film. I despise this film because I think they could've done something better with the material. 8 Mile is an overrated piece of garbage and is only seen as a phenomenal film because of Eminem. Big deal, he's in a film. This film is yet another example of the hype killing the film. There's nothing good or interesting happening on screen. The film goes for the raw, gritty street look, and it does succeed on that level. But where it fails in the actors performances and the overall storyline. The film has a very poor conclusion, and it ends on a flat note. I really don't see why this film has gotten this much praise, if it wouldn't star Eminem, this film would've been panned by critics. A bad film with a boring story with terrible acting. A wasted opportunity to try and make something great, instead it's forgettable.
  • fb223580
    July 14, 2011
    fb223580
    This movie is 2 hours in the life of Eminem, but when he's being a less colourful, less eccentric, less messed-up version of himself (see: The Slim Shady LP). What the movie did do well was create for fans of the rapper a taste of what life was like for him in Detroit. What str... read moreuck me most was the sense of emptinessâ"â"he didn't own anything, from a roof over his head to his car (from his mother), always teetering on the line with his job and not even being able to claim a girl as his own.

    The battle scenes are entertaining no matter who you are, and build up a predictable (but still satisfying) heroic trajectory. And at least he legitimately beat his competition, as opposed to many dance battle movies where I'm pretty sure the opposition actually kicked the protagonists' asses.

View All 8 Mile Reviews

Critic Reviews

Jonathan Rosenbaum
November 15, 2011
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. Full Review

David Ansen
November 1, 2007
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. Full Review

January 26, 2006
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 r... Full Review

Peter Rainer
January 16, 2003
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? Full Review

Stanley Kauffmann
December 2, 2002
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.

Andrew Sarris
November 22, 2002
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer

I have to go back to James Dean in Elia Kazan's East of Eden and Nicholas Ray's Rebel Without a Cause in 1955 to find a comparably jolting piece of male aggressiveness coupled with bottled-up vulnerab... Full Review

Richard Roeper
November 11, 2002
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper

8 Mile probably won't win converts to rap, but it should thrill Eminem fans, so thumbs up. Full Review

James Berardinelli
November 10, 2002
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

In many ways, the movie is just one big cliché, but Hanson's style gives it more weight and heft than it might otherwise have. Full Review

David Edelstein
November 9, 2002
David Edelstein, Slate

There are a lot of stale -- and nefarious -- clichés in 8 Mile (Universal), but most of the time they're overwhelmed by the pulsing, grinding, hopped-up camerawork and the soulful star turn of Eminem. Full Review

Desson Thomson
November 8, 2002
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

[Eminem] does a lot of things right. So does the movie.

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Facts

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    • Jimmy Smith Jr. AKA Rabbit: Do you ever wonder at what point you just say fuck it man? Like you gotta stop livin' up here and start livin' down here?
    • Sol George: [looking at his watch] It's seven thirty in in the mornin', dawg.
    • Alex: Are you askin' me out for a date, Jimmy Smith Jr.
    • Jimmy Smith Jr. AKA Rabbit: Well, a matter of fact, as I am?
    • Alex: Why don't you take me somewhere now?
    • Jimmy Smith Jr. AKA Rabbit: [freestyling] And Wink did fuck my girl, I'm still standing here screaming, 'Fuck the Free World!' Don't ever try to judge me dude, you don't know what the fuck I've been through! But I know something about you! You went to Cranbrook, that's a private school! What's a matter, dog, you embarrassed? This guy's a gangsta; his real name is Clarence. And Clarence lives at home with both parents. And Clarence's parents have a real good marriage. He don't wanna battle me, he's shook! Cause there's no such thing as "halfway crooks" He's scared to death, he's scared to look in his fucking yearbook; fuck Cranbrook! [music stops] Fuck the beat, I'll go a capella! Fuck a Papa Doc, fuck a clock, fuck a trailer, fuck everybody! Fuck y'all if you doubt me! I'm a piece of fucking white trash, I say it proudly! And fuck this battle, I don't wanna win, i'm outtie. Here, tell these people something they don't know about me. [tosses mic to Papa Doc]
    • Jimmy Smith Jr. AKA Rabbit: [freestyling] Now everybody from the 313, put your motherfucking hands up and follow me! Everybody from the 313, put your motherfucking hands up! Look, look! Now while he stands tough, notice that this man did not have his hands up! This 'Free World's' got you gasped up! Now, who's afraid of the big, bad wolf?! One, two, three and to the four! One-pac, two-pac, three-pac, four! Four-pac, three-pac, two-pac, one! You're pac, he's pac, no pacs, none! This guy ain't no motherfucking MC! I know everything he's gotta say against me! I am white! I am a fucking bum! I do live in a trailer with my mom! My boy, Future, is an 'Uncle Tom'! I do have a dumb friend named Cheddar Bob Who shot himself in the leg with his own gun! I did get jumped by all six of you chumps!
    • Jimmy Smith Jr. AKA Rabbit: [singing] He's nervous, quick someone give his ass anouther steoid.. Glablabalba, I didn't understand a word you said! Glblabla! Is that a tank top or a new bra!
    • Wink: Why you always giving me shit man? Is it because I'm making moves? Or is it because your ass is stuck hosting battles for two years. You're a fucking LOSER.
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