The Inspection

The autobiographical, or at least semi-autobiographical, film has been a hot topic in the last few years. From Joanna Hogg’s The Souvenir films and Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma, to this year’s Bardo (Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu), Armageddon Time (James Gray) and The Fabelmans (Steven Spielberg), filmmakers have been mining their pasts to create new projects. First time feature writer-director Elegance Bratton has contributed his own film to the subgenre this year as well, telling part of his life story in the military drama The Inspection.

​The film begins in 2003 with Ellis French (Jeremy Pope) returning home to visit his mother Inez (Gabrielle Union). The tension between the two is evident immediately, with Inez placing newspapers down on the couch before she’ll allow Ellis to sit down. Ellis has come to retrieve his birth certificate, as he has enlisted in the Marines. While Ellis is hoping for some kind words and a loving goodbye before he leaves for boot camp, he is instead treated to what seem to be familiar venomous words. Inez is ashamed that her son is gay, and tells him that if he doesn’t come back as the son she gave birth to (i.e. heterosexual), then “this certificate is void”. In a short final scene in a shelter before he leaves for boot camp, we learn that Ellis has been on his own since he was 16, that he is now 25, and that he has been homeless for most of those intervening years.

​During the ride to boot camp, Ellis shares his food with fellow recruit Ismail (Eman Esfandi), who is already the target of harassment and ridicule from other recruits because he is of Middle Eastern descent in a time so close to September 11. Upon arriving at camp, the group of recruits is inspected by drill instructor Leland Laws (Bokeem Woodbine) and his fellow officers. The recruits are made to swear that they aren’t now and have never been felons, terrorists, communists, or homosexuals. Ellis does well in his early training, but loses himself in daydreams in the shower, becomes noticeably erect, and is outed to the rest of the group as gay. He is also beaten and ostracized. He refuses to give up, earning the friendship and help of assistant drill instructor Rosales (Raul Castillo). They also have a sexual relationship. But Ellis also earns the ire of Laws, who attempts to drown him during a training session in a pool. He is also targeted for violence and harassment from Laurence Harvey (McCaul Lombardi), a recruit whose father served with Laws. But as Ellis continues to fight to stay in training, he begins to gain the respect of most of the other recruits. When Laws and Harvey conspire to have Ellis processed out of training by cheating during competition at the firing range, Ismael and others stand up for Ellis. Once Ellis completes training and becomes a Marine, he is even accepted to a degree by Laws, who stated earlier in the film that he “hates recruits, but loves Marines”.

​The greatest strength of the film is in the performances, especially Pope as Ellis. This is Pope’s first lead role in a film, and he really shines. He brings a powerful mix of sensitivity and strength, and really captures the attention of the camera. Raul Castillo is another standout, imbuing Rosales with a quiet steadiness. He is good to Ellis, but it is often uncertain as to why, as he is uninterested in advancing their relationship later in the film. Woodbine and Union are both good with what they are asked to do, but the writing for their characters is not as strong, often playing more as standard homophobic stereotypes.

​Building on this, the writing is where the film stumbles. Bratton drives his points home over and over again, and is rarely subtle about them. It makes even the short runtime of the film seem somewhat repetitive and draggy. On the other hand, perhaps blunt reinforcement that homophobia is wrong is what is needed in a world where the Club Q and Pulse shootings have occurred and where bigoted politicians spew hate on a daily basis.

Bratton’s direction shows promise, with solid shot selection and the obvious touch of a director who can bring great performances from his actors. I mildly recommend the film on the strength of Pope’s performance and the promise shown by Bratton for potential future films.