Question:
The problem one has when going to see this film is that the star is so well known it is difficult going into the film not having an opinion already. I noticed that a large proportion of the audience clearly followed Eminem as an artist, whilst others did not go to see an Eminem film but rather a Curtis Hanson film. I feel into both categories, I like Eminem as an artist and I also greatly admire Hanson as a filmmaker, enjoying LA Confidential and Wonder Boys.
The film centres around Eminem’s character Jimmy (Rt as he is called by his friends) he lives in the shady part of Detroit in a trailer with his mum (Kim Basinger) her lover and his daughter Lillie. Jimmy is a white guy in a black business, he attends battles which are gatherings of up and coming rappers who are gaining street cred and artistic knowledge by battling each other. Those with the best rhymes and lyrics win and become the king of the rooster. Battling with nerves and prejudice Jimmy starts to build up the confidence he needs to become a white rapper.
Whilst the film clearly focuses on his musical battle, relationships are also a vital part of the film. Jimmy’s mother has problems with her lover, who is the same age as Jimmy, his daughter lives in the trailer having to put up with constant fights and argument. Whilst Jimmy is in search of a new love his crew are always getting into hustles with other gangs. Eminem plays Jimmy very well, although the film shares obvious similarities with Marshall Mathers’ real life story, it never feels like an Eminem film. Jimmy is a real life guy trying to get along and deal with all the struggles in life. Eminem plays Jimmy with such grit whilst at the same time he manages to dig deeper into the character showing his sensitive sides. The supporting cast is just as good especially Basinger looking almost unrecognizable as Stephanie Smith (Jimmy’s mum).
After the screening director Curtis Hanson was there to answer questions. He talked about how even how the film stars Eminem he didn’t want it to be an excuse for a soundtrack album. He want to tell the story of Jimmy and his troubled life. He mentioned that even the film has a very different feel to his previous two they all are essentially based around dialogue and the city the films are set in are all vital to the story. He mentioned that the film only takes place over a period of one week and that the it is clearly not Eminem’s autobiography.
Overall I enjoyed the film immensely, the combination of the talented actors, led by Eminem who managed to carry the film superbly, (so much so that there is talk of an Oscar) and the wonderful direction of Hanson has led to a great film. The real success of the film in my opinion is that the it will appeal to people other than the Eminem fans, the portrayal of the life of Jimmy and his struggles is really what comes through in this film and in doing so it becomes a good contender for best film in next years Oscars.
There is not much to add to Buffy-Fan's description of the plot.
I do want to underline Kim Basinger's awesome performance, she really got down, ugly, dirty, and most of all, realistic for it. Her scenes are real highlights of the movie.
As BF noted, this isn't some epic success story and only covers about a week of Jimmy Rt's life, though I expected there to be something more when the movie ended, don't know why. Basically everything you saw in the great trailer is almost all there is.
I don't know about Eminem getting an Oscar nod, he was ok but had only about a couple of expressions really, fine for the film and this character, with numerous similarities to his own life, but nothing spectacular. Brittany Murphy plays a great, beautiful slut though. :o
It's a pretty "heavy" film, with serious themes, especially if you had personal relation with some of them. I've lived alone since 14, experienced a bunch of crap, and this movie reminded me of it. I'm sure everyone, to some extend, will be able to relate, and that's this film's greatest achievement, it evokes some sort of deeper dramatic emotion out of you. There are also, surprisingly, a lot of those kind of scenes and situations where you don't know whether to laugh or to cringe, so you just do both.
I think it's about 2 hours long but the time flew by unnoticed, as I said, I was expecting there to be at least another hour of story left when the screen went black.
Anyway, good movie to add to your collection, nothing spectacular, but enjoyable on some level.
Any info on the dvd?
<B>Image removed</b>.
The only special features confirmed so far are special performances by Eminem from the movie's set.
I think the real life battles from the 1997 Rap Olympics should be a must. A doucmentary on Detroit would be nice too.
Oh and the DVD Screener that came out a few days ago had a DTS track. :norty: :thumbs:
<B>EDIT: Please don't leach off of other people's sites</b>
Just saw this and it was brilliant! Such a cool film. I'm guessing March 18th is the R1 version?
Having grown tired with Eminems "Gangster wannabe" image, this movie came turned out great ... thankfully we can now watch Eminem without him making an arse out of himself. (and he's all the better for it) :notworthy
I doubt Eminem will get near an oscar though, although he carried the film, he was basically playing himself, they say its not an autobiography but its damn similar! :D
Brilliant film, Can't wait for the DVD
it's got that rocky feel to it:)
I thought it was OK, and the only rewatchable bits are the "battle" parts. Mainly because they speak so bloody fast and I need to hear it again. But most of the other bits and pieces was dragging on a bit and didn't move the story along that much, and I would have liked to see what the character would do next after the ending.
The film centres around Eminem’s character Jimmy (Rt as he is called by his friends) he lives in the shady part of Detroit in a trailer with his mum (Kim Basinger) her lover and his daughter Lillie. Jimmy is a white guy in a black business, he attends battles which are gatherings of up and coming rappers who are gaining street cred and artistic knowledge by battling each other. Those with the best rhymes and lyrics win and become the king of the rooster. Battling with nerves and prejudice Jimmy starts to build up the confidence he needs to become a white rapper.
Whilst the film clearly focuses on his musical battle, relationships are also a vital part of the film. Jimmy’s mother has problems with her lover, who is the same age as Jimmy, his daughter lives in the trailer having to put up with constant fights and argument. Whilst Jimmy is in search of a new love his crew are always getting into hustles with other gangs. Eminem plays Jimmy very well, although the film shares obvious similarities with Marshall Mathers’ real life story, it never feels like an Eminem film. Jimmy is a real life guy trying to get along and deal with all the struggles in life. Eminem plays Jimmy with such grit whilst at the same time he manages to dig deeper into the character showing his sensitive sides. The supporting cast is just as good especially Basinger looking almost unrecognizable as Stephanie Smith (Jimmy’s mum).
After the screening director Curtis Hanson was there to answer questions. He talked about how even how the film stars Eminem he didn’t want it to be an excuse for a soundtrack album. He want to tell the story of Jimmy and his troubled life. He mentioned that even the film has a very different feel to his previous two they all are essentially based around dialogue and the city the films are set in are all vital to the story. He mentioned that the film only takes place over a period of one week and that the it is clearly not Eminem’s autobiography.
Overall I enjoyed the film immensely, the combination of the talented actors, led by Eminem who managed to carry the film superbly, (so much so that there is talk of an Oscar) and the wonderful direction of Hanson has led to a great film. The real success of the film in my opinion is that the it will appeal to people other than the Eminem fans, the portrayal of the life of Jimmy and his struggles is really what comes through in this film and in doing so it becomes a good contender for best film in next years Oscars.
Answers:
There is not much to add to Buffy-Fan's description of the plot.
I do want to underline Kim Basinger's awesome performance, she really got down, ugly, dirty, and most of all, realistic for it. Her scenes are real highlights of the movie.
As BF noted, this isn't some epic success story and only covers about a week of Jimmy Rt's life, though I expected there to be something more when the movie ended, don't know why. Basically everything you saw in the great trailer is almost all there is.
I don't know about Eminem getting an Oscar nod, he was ok but had only about a couple of expressions really, fine for the film and this character, with numerous similarities to his own life, but nothing spectacular. Brittany Murphy plays a great, beautiful slut though. :o
It's a pretty "heavy" film, with serious themes, especially if you had personal relation with some of them. I've lived alone since 14, experienced a bunch of crap, and this movie reminded me of it. I'm sure everyone, to some extend, will be able to relate, and that's this film's greatest achievement, it evokes some sort of deeper dramatic emotion out of you. There are also, surprisingly, a lot of those kind of scenes and situations where you don't know whether to laugh or to cringe, so you just do both.
I think it's about 2 hours long but the time flew by unnoticed, as I said, I was expecting there to be at least another hour of story left when the screen went black.
Anyway, good movie to add to your collection, nothing spectacular, but enjoyable on some level.
Answers:
Any info on the dvd?
Answers:
<B>Image removed</b>.
The only special features confirmed so far are special performances by Eminem from the movie's set.
I think the real life battles from the 1997 Rap Olympics should be a must. A doucmentary on Detroit would be nice too.
Oh and the DVD Screener that came out a few days ago had a DTS track. :norty: :thumbs:
<B>EDIT: Please don't leach off of other people's sites</b>
Answers:
Just saw this and it was brilliant! Such a cool film. I'm guessing March 18th is the R1 version?
Answers:
Having grown tired with Eminems "Gangster wannabe" image, this movie came turned out great ... thankfully we can now watch Eminem without him making an arse out of himself. (and he's all the better for it) :notworthy
I doubt Eminem will get near an oscar though, although he carried the film, he was basically playing himself, they say its not an autobiography but its damn similar! :D
Answers:
Brilliant film, Can't wait for the DVD
it's got that rocky feel to it:)
Answers:
I thought it was OK, and the only rewatchable bits are the "battle" parts. Mainly because they speak so bloody fast and I need to hear it again. But most of the other bits and pieces was dragging on a bit and didn't move the story along that much, and I would have liked to see what the character would do next after the ending.
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