Review - The Inspection
Directed by: Elegance Bratton
Written by: Elegance Bratton
Starring: Jeremy Pope, Raul Castillo, McCaul Lombardi, Aaron Dominguez, Gabrielle Union, Aubrey Joseph, Bokeem Woodbine, Nicholas Logan, Eman Esfandi, Andrew Kai
Running Time: 95 minutes
Rating: 2.5/5
A24 has landed at the Toronto International Film Festival; opening the fest with their first of a few films on their slate at Toronto. Looking to replicate the energy and emotion of Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight, Elegance Bratton’s feature directorial debut The Inspection leans too close to Moonlight’s sun and falters.
Ellis French (played by Broadway’s Jeremy Pope) is openly gay; lost and disillusioned in his home city, he seeks a way to find acceptance and community in a growingly dysfunctional world. His mother, Inez, played by Gabrielle Union, yearns for the dream son that she wish that she had - straight, proud and a trophy for his mother flaunt across their world. Ellis enters a boot camp to train to be a marine. IInez painfully whispers if the camp does not “change” Ellis into the son she wishes she had - Ellis’ could keep his birth certificate as the only proof of his existence in her life.
“The Inspection is serviceable but suffers from its formulaic nature; pain, growth, repeat, pain, growth repeat.”
The Inspection leans heavily into the era of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” from the perspective of a close-knit platoon that is built upon the nature of masculinity and heterosexuality. Ellis is immediately the outlier; called out by his commanding officer and physically abused, segregated and exploited by his fellow soldiers. The Inspection falls into a repetitive cycle of pain, abuse, sociopathy all broken up with small silent moments of emotional gathering . Bratton writes and directs his own personal experiences as a tribute to his relationship with his mother and while powerful the scenes with Pope and Union may be - there’s only so much yelling and pain the audience can take before it gets a little bit…boring. For a film that runs at 95 minutes, which is usually Rodrigo Cokting level of brisk and to-the-point - The Inspection feels too long for what it is trying to say - and for a film with a very familiar storyline and narrative arc - the cycle of abuse, yelling and discrimination can only be done so many times before I have to check my watch.
That isn’t to say that there are no bright spots in this bleak journey for Ellis. Jeremy Pope’s performance is thunderous; it is very much a physical performance as much as he shines in the quiet moments. His effort to match the chin-ups of his squad, the way he faces off against Bokeem Woodbine at attention all provide a powerful statement of how talent can transition from the stage to the screen. Gabrielle Union is also outstanding - even if I were to say that her performance is too similar to Naomi Harris’ in Moonlight. The hair, the make-up, the cigarette smoking…it’s almost an impersonation - not saying it’s horrible though - as the scenes with Pope and Union are the absolute best in the film.
The Inspection is serviceable but suffers from its formulaic nature; pain, growth, repeat, pain, growth repeat. Mix in a ton of yelling (a la Full Metal Jacket) and some moments of peak drama - you have a film that works, but just barely. A24, what else do you have for me?
