The Inspection

The Inspection

Ellis French is a young, gay Black man, rejected by his mother and with few options for his future, decides to join the Marines, doing whatever it takes to succeed in a system that would cast him aside. But even as he battles deep-seated prejudice and the grueling routines of basic training, he finds unexpected camaraderie, strength, and support in this new community, giving him a hard-earned sense of belonging that will shape his identity and forever change his life.

  • Released: 2022-11-18
  • Runtime: 95 minutes
  • Genre: Drama
  • Stars: Jeremy Pope, Gabrielle Union, Bokeem Woodbine, Raúl Castillo, McCaul Lombardi, Nicholas Logan, Aaron Dominguez, Eman Esfandi, Aubrey Joseph, Andrew Kai, Tyler Merritt, Steve Mokate, Brad Napp, Daniel Williamson, Wynn Reichert
  • Director: Elegance Bratton
 Comments
  • TheDome81 - 14 May 2024
    Ugh. Just couldn't finish it.
    First of all, let me just say that there a=were no surprises here. Y+This movie had just about every cliche in the book. So totally unoriginal. So why did it have to get made? I can see it would be relevant about 10 or 15 years ago. But why now? And who cares if it was inspired by trump events? Not this guy.

    But the main issue I have with the movie is the overdone boot camp footage. Just how many times do we have to witness that? It gets real tired, real fast. We get it! Recruits get yelled at constantly. Over and over and over. They're torn down so they can build themselves back up. It's painful to watch.

    So if you want to waste an hour and a half of your life, have at it. Naturally, Rotten Tomatoes gave it an 88%. Yikes, I should have known it would be terrible.

    MovieJunkieMark.
  • EUyeshima - 29 May 2023
    Pope's Strong Performance Illuminates Bratton's Searing Autobiographical Film
    With his feature film directorial debut, Elegance Bratton has made an intensely personal autobiographical work that manages to be heartbreaking and guardedly encouraging at the same time. Anchored by Jeremy Pope's deeply affecting performance as Bratton's avatar, Ellis French, the 2022 film manages an impressive level of emotional maturity thanks to Bratton's self-aware screenplay. The plot focuses on French's desperate decision to enlist in the Marines to seek redemption for his marginalized life due in large part to his estrangement from his mother Inez who rejected him years ago for being gay. Much of the story focuses on his often harrowing boot camp experience where his homosexuality is quickly exposed (literally). French's ability to survive takes many turns not the least of which is an emotional rollercoaster of a reunion with Inez (played with glammed-down ferocity by Gabrielle Union). Given the familiarity of the story in different contexts over the years in various military films, there are several predictable moments, but Bratton and Pope inject the humanity needed to overlook them.