Writer-director Elegance Bratton’s own story of overcoming fierce odds to become a US marine inspired his film The Inspection.
We’re in New Jersey in 2005 and 25-year-old Ellis French (Jeremy Pope) leads a threadbare existence. Estranged from his mother, Inez (Gabrielle Union), he’s been on his own since the age of 16 and the one thing he wants to do is to make her proud. Down and out, he determines that he will sign on to become a marine, only boot camp is hardly what he counted on. It is tough on all the new recruits, who must meet the harsh requirements of rough taskmaster and Desert Storm veteran Laws (Bokeem Woodbine), but French is especially singled out. Openly gay men are not allowed in the armed services, so they keep quiet about their sexuality when they enlist.
But after Laws and squadron leader Harvey (McCaul Lombardi) discover French is gay, they give him hell. They continually step over the line, endeavouring to break French, but despite the challenges – several illegal – he keeps coming back for more. As for his mother, the confrontation between them late in the piece lays out just why the two fell out in the first place. The picture presented is hardly pretty.
Bratton takes a sledgehammer approach to his material, painting an ugly portrait, as the men are exposed to a heady, testosterone-filled environment. Pride in service is counterpointed with the dirty tactics used to undermine the recruits. Although an important story to be told, I felt the all or nothing approach was too heavy-handed, when nuance was warranted.
Jeremy Pope makes an impressive feature debut as a man on edge throughout, whose easiest option would be to bail. Bokeem Woodbine plays up the tough, unrelenting demeanour of a man used to getting his own way. McCaul Lombardi brings a thuggish quality to Harvey, who is looking to see French broken. I liked the role of the squadron leader’s deputy Rosales, played by Raul Castillo. His character recognises he has a job to do, but can still emphathise with the situation in which French finds himself.
As a device, the fact that we don’t know exactly what happened between mother and son until near the end works quite effectively. Nevetheless, I still say more subtlety in the storytelling would have added credibility.
Alex First
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Alex First is a Melbourne based journalist and communications specialist. He contributes to The Blurb on film and theatre.