BBBB

(out of 5)

Producer Brian Grazer saw the potential of acting charisma in rap star Eminem and commissioned screenwriter Scott Silver to write a story that would loosely revolve around the megastar’s own experiences:  breaking out of the Detroit hip hop scene and making it to the big time. What Grazer and director Curtis Hanson have come up with is an entertaining melodrama that overcomes Silver’s unremarkable script with believable situations, excellent dialogue and brilliant performances. Eminem himself is a natural, perfectly putting his larger than life personality across for mass audiences to enjoy, and he gets ample support from Kim Basinger as his troubled, trailer-park living mother and Brittany Murphy as his kindhearted but not desperate girlfriend. Hanson hasn’t lived up to the reputation he started with L.A. Confidential and Wonder Boys, but this is still a cinematic treat that is just as much worth seeing as those two classics.

Imagine Entertainment, Mikona Productions GmbH & Co. KG

USA/Germany, 2002

Directed by Curtis Hanson

Screenplay by Scott Silver

Cinematography by Rodrigo Prieto

Produced by Brian Grazer, Curtis Hanson, Jimmy Iovine

Music by Carol Fenelon

Production Design by Philip Messina

Costume Design by Mark Bridges

Film Editing by Craig Kitson, Jay Rabinowitz

Film Festivals:  TIFF 2002

Academy Award
Best Music (Original Song) (“Lose Yourself”, music by Eminem, Jeff Bass, Luis Resto; lyric by Eminem)

Golden Globe Award Nomination
Best Original Song-Motion Picture (“Lose Yourself”, music and lyrics by Jeffrey Bass, Marshall Mathers, Luis Resto)