At the beginning of "The Inspection," Elegance Bratton's stirringly intimate drama about a gay Black man in the U.S. military, one personal hell is exchanged for another. The man's name is Ellis (he's played by Jeremy Pope), though as a Marine recruit, he's referred to most often by his surname, French — a single syllable that, as barked repeatedly by his superiors and fellow recruits, begins to sound like a taunt. It's 2005, and with "don't ask, don't tell" still very much in effect, Ellis' boot camp experience becomes that much more nightmarish a crucible. It also opens a window into a hyper-regimented world that, as one drill sergeant observes in a rare unguarded moment, couldn't exist without the gay servicepeople whose very existence it denies.
The movie's title is thus doubly apt: Ellis and his fellow soldiers must pass various examinations on a routine basis, but for a little more than 90 minutes, it's the U.S. military apparatus itself that Bratton inspects and finds thoroughly wanting. But he's also taking a long, hard look at his own memories, many painful, some inspiring. Ellis' story is a version of Bratton's own — a connection the director reinforces when the young recruit learns, toward the end of basic training, that he's cut out for a career in photography and filmmaking. "The Inspection," Bratton's first feature after a string of short films, marks the latest fulfillment of that promise.
It begins with Ellis, 25, homeless and desperate, dropping in on his mother, Inez (a stunning Gabrielle Union), after a long absence. He needs his birth certificate so he can enlist, and within just a few minutes, through tense silences, spare dialogue and an abundance of visual details, an entire backstory of estrangement and rejection slips into focus. The stray photographs and other mementos from Ellis' childhood scattered around this cramped apartment tell some of that story, as do Inez's cop uniform and the mix of fatigue, contempt and cold fury in her gaze. Ellis tries to meet that gaze with his own pleading eyes, desperate in their need for love and approval.
