‘8 Mile’ delivers the goods; artist found in ‘Frida’

Eminem surprises in the gritty world of ‘8 Mile’

All of the negative words you would normally see next to the name

of rap star Eminem -- controversial, lewd, extreme, offensive -- will

soon be joined by some positive ones because of “8 Mile,” a feature

film loosely based on his life, directed by Curtis Hanson (“L.A.

Confidential,” “Wonder Boys”).

Although some may be skeptical of the quality of a film starring

such a controversial artist, it delivers a timeless message told from

a completely different perspective.

What I love about this movie is more than the cast, more than the

right-of-passage story that makes everyone want to go out and kick

some butt. It is the light that is brought to the dank corners of the

Detroit streets. It’s a place where everyone is poor, if you’re smart

you stay on your own side and a subculture thrives, bringing hope

where there is none.

Jimmy “Rabbit” Smith (Eminem) has rhymes that would put the most

respected hip-hop artist to shame. He has only one problem -- he is

the lone white face on the black side of the stretch of streets known

as 8 mile.

Yet that does not compare to the battle he is facing within

himself.

Thankfully, Hollywood did not try to kick things up a notch by

making any part of Jimmy’s life look glamorous. Instead it offered a

dose of reality from beginning to the end, an element I believe does

not happen enough on the big screen. If art reflects life, leave the

glam in Beverly Hills and keep giving us the grit of Motor City.

One of the many surprising aspects of this film is its star.

Vibrato is replaced with vulnerability, causing you to be more

intrigued whether this journey will end on a high note. That journey

is a difficult one and is what keeps the audience on their toes, just

waiting for something to give.

Needless to say, I believe my nine bucks were well spent and I

think you will feel the same.

“8 Mile” is rated R for strong language, sexuality, some violence

and drug use.

* DEANDRA RICH is a novice screenwriter in Costa Mesa who hopes

to one day turn Ebert and Roeper into Ebert and Rich.

Hayek compelling as artist Kahlo in ‘Frida’

Even though the trailers to Miramax’s latest film, “Frida,” piqued

my interest, displaying energetic colors and enticingly sensual

scenes, there was still one question that haunted me: Who was Frida

Kahlo?

I had never heard of Kahlo before the movie and didn’t realize the

profundity of her life. The mysteries surrounding Mexico’s icon are

stylishly revealed in Julie Taymor’s well-mounted biopic.

Relatively unknown outside of Mexico until the 1980s, Kahlo was a

20th-century artist whose vibrant and sometimes disturbing paintings

exposed the tormented life of a passionate woman. She was also the

first Hispanic woman to be honored with a U.S. postage stamp. And

numerous books have been written, in English and Spanish, chronicling

her controversial and provocative life.

Kahlo garnered fame not only for her uni-browed self-portraits,

but also for her turbulent relationship with husband, mentor and

muralist Diego Rivera, her dalliances with men and women and her

communist beliefs.

“Frida” begins in Mexico City in 1925, when the bus that Kahlo

(Salma Hayek) is in collides with a trolley. She’s found buried

beneath layers of crumpled metal, coated in blood and gold dust from

a local cathedral ceiling.

Although she survives, she experiences excruciating pain for the

rest of her life. Bedridden and lying in a full body cast, she begins

painting her first self-portraits.

Fiercely self-sufficient and iron willed, Kahlo triumphed over the

loss of a leg, a miscarriage and infidelity in her marriage, until

drug dependency finally ended her life at the age of 47.

As Kahlo, Hayek is compelling. She’s as playful as she is

dangerous. A prosthetic eyebrow aside, this role was meant for Hayek.

Alfred Molina, as the charming womanizer Rivera, subtly reveals the

guilt and sadness underneath his character.

The film includes cameo appearances by Antonio Banderas as David

Siqueiros, Rivera’s rival in the art world; Ashley Judd as Tina

Modotti, the famous Italian photographer; and Edward Norton as Nelson

Rockefeller, who commissioned Rivera to paint a mural in Rockefeller

Center, only to tear it down when Rivera’s political views surfaced.

“Frida” is visually masterful. Whereas Kahlo, the artist, fused

the events of her life with the imagery in her paintings, Taymor

(Broadway’s “The Lion King,” “Titus”), infuses her film with Kahlo’s

paintings. Captivating scenes in which Hayek’s character is

seamlessly projected in and out of the artist’s canvases fortify the

artist’s real-life imagery.

There is one aspect of Kahlo’s life that the film didn’t address.

The film’s primary focus is on Kahlo and Rivera’s relationship and

the political climate that enveloped them. Very few scenes were

devoted to demonstrating the artist at her craft, which left me

wondering: Since Kahlo was fanatical, how did she approach her

canvases? Was she frenetic, splattering walls with reds and blues?

Was she reclusive, not leaving her studio for days?

Forgiving this minor flaw, the film has given me an appreciation

of Frida Kahlo, both of her art and her life, which I might not have

discovered any other way.

“Frida” is rated R for sexuality-nudity and language.

* JULIE LOWRANCE, 40, is a Costa Mesa resident who works at a

Newport Beach overnight aircraft advertising agency.