Written by Emma Sikes. Photo courtesy of IMDb.
“The Inspection,” a semi-autobiographical film starring Jeremy Pope, followed the journey of Ellis French, a young, gay, black man rejected by his mother, as he joined the Marines in pursuit of acceptance. The film, along with intense displays of discipline, and battles with deep-seated prejudice, also included perfectly timed comedic relief.
A standout moment was in preparing for the last test required before graduating, the recruits were putting on war paint. Pope was shown proudly and meticulously applying his own. The head training officer Leland Laws, played by Bokeem Woodbine, stopped recruit French, who had blended his paint to resemble eyeliner and blush. A simple but much-needed bit that Pope only enhanced due to his charisma.
Gabrielle Union, who played the distant and disapproving mother, Inez French, gave a nuanced performance despite her limited screen time. The scene where Union and her complicated mother-son relationship was introduced had little to no spoken words, but her distaste and Pope’s need for acceptance were made abundantly clear through their body language alone. They both shine and set the tone for the film.
Despite the storied past of the Marine Corps under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” edict, Pope served up a vulnerable and empathetic performance leaving the audience satisfied with his decision to graduate and serve. The narrative doesn’t fully condemn the systems within the Navy that allow for the mistreatment of LGBTQIA people and the inherent systematic racism, specifically within training camps. Leaving the audience to wonder if those factors subconsciously affected Elegance Bratton, whose experience the movie is based on.
In Bratton’s feature directorial debut, he excelled where directing is concerned and presented a prime example of the importance of larger production companies like A24 recognizing and displaying stories like this one.
