Nominated for three Gotham Awards, three Spirit Awards, including Best First Feature, and one Golden Globe, this film has gotten enough, critical acclaim that some think it could get a nomination at the upcoming 95th Academy Awards. Writer-director Elegance Bratton has essentially told his life story or at least a significant few months that changed the direction of his existence.
Jeremy Pope (Pose and Hollywood) stars as Ellis French, a young Black, gay man who has been homeless, living in a shelter in New Jersey for a decade. He was presumably kicked out of his parent's house at age 15 because he was gay. It's not sure how he survived for a decade, but he's to the point where he feels if he doesn't get out of this homeless situation, he'll die. His solution is to join the Marines.
THE INSPECTION, Gabrielle Union, 2022. ph: Patti Perret / © A24 / courtesy Everett Collection
Gabrielle Union (Being Mary Jane and Bad Boys II) co-stars as Inez French, the mother to Ellis. She works at the Department of Corrections in New Jersey. She lives in an apartment as a single woman. She apparently got pregnant as a teenager but worked to raise her son, seemingly without the father's help. She's deeply homophobic, which likely stems from her religious beliefs. The way she behaves, it's almost as if she thinks Ellis is dirty for being gay.
The film follows Ellis as he goes to military boot camp or basic training to become a Marine. Ellis could have joined the Air Force or any other branch. He specifically chose the most difficult, aside from the U.S. Army, which would almost guarantee that he would be sent into battle overseas. This film takes place in the wake of the War in Iraq in 2003. Ellis argues that he believes his life will have value as a Marine because if he dies, he'll die a "hero."
Bratton's film wants to be a kind of love letter to the military and how it saved him, as well as how it could save others. In that regard, there have been plenty of films, particularly action flicks, that are basically military propaganda. One prime example is Top Gun (1986), but many Michael Bay flicks have also been the same. It was one thing to have such propaganda coming out of World War I or World War II. Films like All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), which was remade this year, pushed back on that kind of propaganda but, given the nature of those wars, the propaganda was somewhat tolerable.
Coming out of the Vietnam War, that kind of propaganda became less tolerable, and antiwar films saw a rise. Films like Full Metal Jacket (1987) and Tigerland (2000) were also about following soldiers through boot camp, but those films were ultimately critical of the Vietnam War, and even critical of how men are trained to be sent to those conflicts. Tigerland even argued that men should find a way to get out of it.
We also saw a rise of antiwar films coming out of the War in Iraq. One of which is referenced in this film, that of Jarhead (2005), but it's not framed as an antiwar film here. It's framed instead as an aspiring or rousing account of being a Marine. That is essentially the framing of this film overall. It's not antiwar or even that critical of the military. Yes, it pushes back against the homophobic policy of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT), but it's not as critical as one might hope.
Raúl Castillo (Army of the Dead and Wrath of Man) also co-stars as Rosales, a drill sergeant in Parris Island, South Carolina, at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot there. It's the same location where Full Metal Jacket was filmed. Rosales recognizes that Ellis is gay and becomes an ally to him, even when the training becomes more intense and even brutal. Rosales is the counterweight to the tougher drill sergeant, Leland Laws, played by Bokeem Woodbine (Queen & Slim and Total Recall). Yet, through Rosales, we get some obvious homo-eroticism, which is limited to shower or locker-room fantasies.
Those fantasies reveal the potential danger and despite the existence of the DADT policy, gay service members still suffered abuse, as this film portrays. This film seems to argue that the only thing to do is suffer through it and not fight back. When Leland Laws commits an egregious and in fact criminal act upon Ellis, there is no repercussions for Leland. He's not even reported, which would have meant a court martial, let alone reprimanded. I'm not sure what is to be gleaned from the allowance of that criminal act without any consequence, but it feels problematic.
Seeing a gay man in this space is refreshing because that specific military policy of DADT hasn't been examined in cinema much at all. The possible exception is Soldier's Girl (2003). There have been international features that have dealt with this similar topic, such as Yossi & Jagger (2003) and Moffie (2021), but a film tackling the DADT policy directly has yet to grace the silver screen. It's appreciated that this one does.
Rated R for language, some nudity, sexual content and violence.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 35 mins.
Available on VOD.
