neumu [ cinematronic ]




	8 Mile
	Curtis Hanson Eminem, Kim Basinger, Brittany Murphy, Mekhi Phifer 2002		With "8 Mile," Oscar-winning director Curtis Hanson did the near-impossible. He made a sympathetic character out of incendiary, vilified white rapper Eminem, the impoverished Detroit native turned platinum recording artist. Eminem helped the cause with a sensitive acting debut that marks him as a screen natural. Hanson's previous projects were the film-noir homage "L.A. Confidential" and college-town dramady "Wonder Boys," so it's odd to see him helming what smacks of exploitation: a fictionalized depiction of Eminem's hardscrabble background and emergence from the Motor City underground. But, aided by Eminem's magnetic presence as factory worker and would-be rap star Rabbit, Hanson turned out a knife-sharp, triumph-over-the-odds take on the hip-hop scene — a rap "Rocky," complete with climactic oratory battle — as well as a pop movie that captures the tenor of its time like "Saturday Night Fever" embodied the Zeitgeist of the '70s. Props to Kim Basinger as Rabbit's trailer-park mom, Brittany Murphy as his liberated/loose woman and Mekhi Phifer as his best friend and booster.