Review of 8 Mile (2002) by Ngonz — 20 Feb 2017

In my opinion, the best part of this film is the realism shown in the relationship Jimmy has with the other characters in the film. He shows a mellow soft tone to his friends and his mother, yet can be more aggressive than assertive when he feels he needs to be. He also shows a nurturing father figure relationship to his little sister Lily, and seems to care more about her than Stephanie does. On the other hand, Jimmy shows a very aggressive tone towards his enemies, in most instances showing more physical than verbal aggression. Jimmy’s assertive-aggressive personality matches that of Marshall Mathers himself; as stated before, 8 Mile is inspired by the real life past that Marshall Mathers faced in Detroit, and the personality that he portrays in this film perfectly shows the background of one in this position; Mathers nails a near perfect portrayal of the character.

My biggest gripe with the movie may be the story. I do feel this movie follows Jimmy the whole way through, I would personally like to have seen bigger focus on the other characters without Jimmy in the picture, so that we can see more how they operate without him. However, that’s really the only gripe that I have with the film.

8 Mile is a great film that left a huge cultural impact on the older cohort of the Millennials, and the impact this film imposed when upon released in autumn 2002 still holds true today nearly 15 years later. 8 Mile gets a B+.