Follows a young rapper in the Detroit area, struggling with every aspect of his life; he wants to make it big but his friends and foes make this odyssey of rap harder than it may seem.
The setting is Detroit in 1995. The city is divided by 8 Mile, a road that splits the town in half along racial lines. A young white rapper, Jimmy "B-Rabbit" Smith Jr. summons strength within himself to cross over these arbitrary boundaries to fulfill his dream of success in hip hop. With his pal Future and the three one third in place, all he has to do is not choke.—yusufpiskin
A rap version of "Saturday Night Fever." B Rabbit, a wannabe rapper from the wrong side of Detroit's 8 Mile, has problems: he dumps his girlfriend when she tells him she's pregnant; to save money to make a demo tape, he moves into his alcoholic mom's trailer; his job's a dead end, and he's just choked at the local head to head rap contest. Things improve when he meets Alex -- an aspiring model headed for New York -- and a fast talking pal promises to set up the demo. Then new setbacks: Alex isn't faithful, mom rejects him, rifts surface with his friends, and he's mugged by rivals. Everything hinges on the next rap showdown at the club. Can B Rabbit pull truth out of his cap?—<[email protected]>
Detroit 1995, Jimmy is an aspiring rap artist, trying to make a music career for himself. Although encouraged by his friends, Jimmy worries about his potential as a rapper. One night, Jimmy 'chokes' during a rap battle at a local venue (with a stage name of B-Rabbit), the Shelter, and he leaves the stage humiliated. Jimmy becomes speechless when the African American rappers (from the group called "Leaders of the Free World") attack his white trash background, and term him as privileged and out of touch with reality.Jimmy's friends include Future, Cheddar Bob, Sol George (Omar Benson Miller) and Iz (De'Angelo Wilson).
Jimmy Smith (Eminem), a young and unhappy blue-collar worker from a poor family, struggling with different aspects of his life.He has moved back north of 8 Mile Road to the rundown trailer home in Warren, Michigan of his alcoholic mother, Stephanie (Kim Basinger), his sister Lily (Chloe Greenfield), and Stephanie's abusive live-in boyfriend Greg (Michael Shannon).Jimmy has to move in with Stephanie as he has been fired from the pizza place for being late too often. He needs a place to stay till he can get a job and make rent.Jimmy is focused on getting his music career started, but he seems unable to catch a break. Just recently, he ends a relationship with his girlfriend, Janeane (Taryn Manning) (Jimmy left her his car as she claimed that she is pregnant) and begins a new relationship with Alex (Brittany Murphy), whom he meets at the factory when she shows up one day looking for her brother.
Jimmy comes to realize that his life has remained largely the same since he graduated high school (Greg used to be classmates with Jimmy and Future at school). At first, Jimmy considers himself a victim of his circumstances and blames others for his problems. Over time, though, Jimmy begins to take more responsibility for the direction of his life.
Stephanie discovers an eviction notice as Jimmy is getting ready for work. Stephanie wants to hide the notice from Greg as he is supposed to get a fat settlement check from an accident, and Stephanie hopes that she and Lily can move into a new house with that money. She doesn't want to freak out Greg and wants Jimmy to help with the money.
Jimmy appears to decide to take his day job more seriously, and this becomes evident to his supervisor at the factory. Initially, when Jimmy requests extra shifts, his supervisor Manny laughs at him (because of his tendency to be late to work), but by the end, Jimmy's improved attitude and performance earns him the extra work he had originally asked for.
Jimmy is friends with Wink, who has ties to a record label promoter. Wink has promised Jimmy that he will take Jimmy along for a record deal with the promoter. Jimmy's friend Future does not trust Wink and considers him to be a negative influence. Through Jimmy, Wink meets Alex.Jimmy relationship with Wink becomes strained after he discovers that Wink does promotional work for Jimmy's rivals, a rap group known as "Leaders of the Free World". Papa Doc is the leader of this group and he particularly dislikes Jimmy. He even pulls a gun on Jimmy during one of their confrontations but is pulled back by his entourage.At one point, Jimmy and his friends get into a violent brawl with the Free World crew (When Jimmy watches Wink with Papa Doc, having a meeting), which is disrupted when Jimmy's friend, Cheddar Bob (Evan Jones), threatens them with a gun and accidentally shoots himself in the leg; he survives after being rushed to the hospital.
During a lunch break at work, one of Jimmy's co-workers performs a freestyle rap insulting his co-worker, Paul, insinuating Paul is gay. Jimmy raps a freestyle defending Paul, which improves his confidence after a positive reception. Alex arrives and is impressed by Jimmy's talent, and they have sex.
Despite her best attempts to keep the eviction notice a secret, Greg discovers it and confronts Stephanie. When Jimmy punches Greg for pushing his mother to the ground, they fight, ending in Greg leaving Stephanie for good.
Jimmy's relationship with Alex ends when Jimmy walks in on his friend Wink (Eugene Byrd) having sex with her. Jimmy beats up Wink, which later causes Wink to officially join forces with Jimmy's enemies, the Leaders of the Free World. Later, Wink and the Free World gang jump Jimmy outside of his mother's trailer, but when one member pulls a gun on Jimmy, Wink stops him, and they leave.After the group has left Jimmy alone, his mother arrives with enough money to pay to avoid eviction, having won $3,200 at a bingo tournament. As Jimmy finds Stephanie lying on the porch, they have an argument, prompting Stephanie to kick Jimmy out of the house.
Jimmy's friends hail him as an incredible rapper, and his friend Future (Mekhi Phifer) puts pressure on Jimmy to get his revenge by competing against the Leaders of the Free World at the next rap battle. However, Jimmy's late-night shift conflicts with the next battle tournament. A visit from Alex changes his mind about competing. Paul (Craig Chandler), a gay co-worker who Jimmy stood up for earlier, agrees to cover for him and he participates in the battle.
The battle acts as kind of a "final conflict" with the Leaders of the Free World gang who have harassed Jimmy. It has three rounds, and in each of them Jimmy faces a member of the gang. Jimmy wins both of the first two rounds with progressively more impressive freestyle raps. In the last round, he is paired against Papa Doc (Anthony Mackie), the tournament's most feared battler.
Jimmy is aware that Doc knows all his weak points, so he decides to address them preemptively with his freestyle. Jimmy acknowledges without shame his lower-class white trash roots and the various humiliations the Free World gang have inflicted on him, and then uses the difficult life he has had as a springboard to reveal the truth about Papa Doc: Doc, whose real name is Clarence, despite passing himself off as a thug, has a privileged background, having attended Cranbrook, a private high school, and growing up in a stable two-parent household.
With nothing to say in rebuttal, Papa Doc hands the microphone back to Future and Jimmy wins the battle. As Jimmy leaves the venue, Future suggests that he stay and celebrate his victory while also offering a position that would allow him to host battles at The Shelter. Jimmy turns him down, claiming he has to get back to work and to find success his own way. He then starts walking back to work, feeling more confident about his future.
