Synopsis
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.
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Cast
- Jeremy PopeEllis French
- Gabrielle UnionInez French
- Bokeem WoodbineLaws
- Raúl CastilloRosales
- McCaul LombardiHarvey
- Nicholas LoganBrooks
- Eman EsfandiIsmail
- Aaron DomínguezCastro
- Aubrey JosephBoles
- Andrew KaiLabel
Recommendations
- 90
The Hollywood Reporter
There’s brutality but also an understated hint of poetry in the way Bratton tells his story from deep inside it, making beautiful use of Baltimore experimental pop group Animal Collective’s richly varied electronic score, which often plays in gentle counterpoint to the harshness of what’s unfolding. - 83
IndieWire
This is a human story, as messy and complex and maddening as any ever told, and while Bratton makes it his own (how could he not?), the generosity with which he shares it with us make it special indeed. - 80
Vanity Fair
Bratton, though, is not solely interested in a litany of struggle. He fills The Inspection with style, with spiky humor and alluring edge. It’s a promising feature debut. - 80
Variety
Pope gives a career-igniting performance. - 80
Screen Daily
Bratton’s depth of feeling elevates the material, suggesting that, for the filmmaker, there’s something intensely cathartic and therapeutic in this retelling. - 75
The Film Stage
Positioned as a work of autobiography from first-time director Elegance Bratton, The Inspection is a flawed, if highly compelling promise of a new talented dramatist in American cinema. - 75
Slashfilm
Pope's performance is so raw, so honest, that we're with him every step of the way. - 60
The Guardian
It’s in the film’s queerest moments that things feel most inventive, narratively and visually, as Bratton steps most firmly outside of the hemmed-in army drama formula and finds ways to make his film sit and thrive in the Venn diagram between military machismo and homoeroticism.
