Please note this is a region 2 DVD and will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play Controversial rapper Eminem (real name Marshall Mathers) makes his big screen debut with 8 MILE a bracing drama directed by the increasingly audacious Curtis Hanson Set in 1995 in the bleak urban battle zone of Detroit the film follows the struggles of a young man desperate to make a better life for himself Jimmy Smith Jr better known as Rabbit is destined for a life of squalor Living in a cramped trailer with his deadbeat mom (Kim Basinger) Rabbit works in a factory to make ends meet His only outlet is hip-hop Possessing a talent for freestyle rapping Rabbit still hasn&39;t managed to unleash his true potential But his best friend Future (Mekhi Phifer) is determined to make that happen Future forces Rabbit to enter a freestyle battle that he blew the week before giving him another chance at redemption Hanson&39;s stellar portrait of lower-class urban disillusionment shot with uncompromisingly gritty realism by Rodrigo Prieto proves that the issue is no longer about race it&39;s about money Eminem delivers a bold performance as a troubled youngster trying to find his place in a harsh cruel world