DETROIT 1995. Once affluent neighbourhoods have been left to decline in the wake of white flight as the optimism of this once thriving city evaporates.

The shining promise of Detroit's industrial majesty has collapsed into a heap of economic and racial polarity, following one of the worst riots in American history.

8 Mile Road, the city's perimeter, is now a dividing line between urban and suburban, between black and white.

Survival is key in the harsh lower depths of Detroit, and for many the current emotional life-preserver is hip-hop. As an art form, rap music is impromptu and fats-paced, topical and insightful.

For people like Jimmy Smith Jr (Eminem), hip-hop is the only thing standing between him and the void.

While the characters and plot of 8 Mile are fictional, the world of Detroit's hip-hop clubs is one that the film's star Eminem knows well.

"I remember, if I lost a battle, it would be like my entire world was crumbling. A lot of people would say What's the big deal? Get over it. You lost, try again.' But I would feel like my whole life was over. It's competition. It's like a sport that is somebody's whole life. It may look silly to a lot of people, but to a lot of us, it's our world."

In 8 Mile, Jimmy has the skills he needs to win. But he must find his voice and channel his anger into his music. "My character, Jimmy, is really hot-headed," says Eminem, "which is how I used to be, and I guess still can be at times. His emotion constantly gets the better of him."

Fascinated by the hip-hop world, producer Brian Grazer had long been convinced that it had enormous dramatic potential which had never been fully explored on film. Grazer saw controversial rapper Eminem as the right vehicle for a project. Grazer notes: "Just as you don't have to appreciate boxing to like Rocky or Raging Bull, you don't have to be a hip-hop fan to appreciate 8 Mile. It's about human endurance, tenacity, getting into this world and surviving it."

While 8 Mile marks the feature film acting debut of Eminem, director Curtis Hanson turned to Oscar winner Kim Basinger whom he worked with on LA Confidential to play Jimmy Smith Jr's mother. And Brittany Murphy last seen opposite Michael Douglas in the thriller Don't Say A Word was cast as the love interest.

Murphy says: "I loved the story.. I thought it was representing a piece of our nation that hasn't really been shown on film yet, and a great story about a young man with a massive amount of energy trying to figure out what the outlet is for him to better himself.

"I think that any performer would understand this need. There's a way to use all that energy as opposed to letting it eat you alive, and that's Jimmy Smith's struggle in the story."

January 16, 2003 11:00