The Inspection

Inspired by Bratton's real-life experiences, the film follows a young gay black man who defiantly endures brutal training at a Marine Corps boot camp, seeking approval from his homophobic mother. It stars Jeremy Pope, Raúl Castillo, McCaul Lombardi, Aaron Dominguez, Nicholas Logan, Eman Esfandi, Andrew Kai, Aubrey Joseph, Bokeem Woodbine, and Gabrielle Union.

The Inspection
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Elegance Bratton
Written by	Elegance Bratton
Produced by	Effie T. Brown Chester Algernal Gordon
Starring	Jeremy Pope Raúl Castillo McCaul Lombardi Aaron Dominguez Nicholas Logan Eman Esfandi Andrew Kai Aubrey Joseph Bokeem Woodbine Gabrielle Union
Cinematography	Lachlan Milne
Edited by	Oriana Soddu
Music by	Animal Collective
Production companies	A24 Gamechanger Films Freedom Principle
Distributed by	A24
Release dates	September 8, 2022 (2022-09-08) (TIFF) November 18, 2022 (2022-11-18) (United States)
Running time	95 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$3 million
Box office	$406,644

The Inspection had its world premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2022, and was theatrically released in the United States on November 18 by A24. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with Pope's performance being praised and earning a Golden Globe nomination.

Ellis French enlists in the Marine Corps and ends up at boot camp on Parris Island, South Carolina. He initially meets the physical requirements, but is not as successful in disguising his sexual orientation, making him the target of a near-lethal hazing from training instructor Leland Laws and a fellow recruit, Laurence Harvey.

• Jeremy Pope as Ellis French
• Raúl Castillo as Rosales
• Bokeem Woodbine as Leland Laws
• Gabrielle Union as Inez French
• McCaul Lombardi as Laurence Harvey
• Aaron Dominguez as Castro
• Nicholas Logan as Brooks
• Eman Esfandi as Ismail
• Andrew Kai as Label
• Aubrey Joseph as Boles

In June 2021, it was announced Jeremy Pope, Gabrielle Union, Bokeem Woodbine and Raúl Castillo had joined the cast of the film, with Elegance Bratton directing from a screenplay he wrote, with Gamechanger Films set to produce, and A24 set to produce and distribute. Principal photography concluded by November 2021.

Music

Bratton enlisted Animal Collective to compose and perform a score for the film. The soundtrack album, which features a collaboration with Indigo De Souza titled "Wish I Knew You", was released on November 18. Art pop musician Serpentwithfeet composed "The Hands", featured in the film's end credits.

The film had its world premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2022. It also screened at the 60th New York Film Festival on October 14, 2022. It was released in the United States on November 18, 2022.

The film was released for VOD on January 24, 2023, followed by a Blu-ray and DVD release on February 21, 2023.

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 89% of 140 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The website's consensus reads: "Although it's frustratingly clumsy in certain respects, The Inspection is an affecting actors' showcase in service of some truly worthy themes." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 73 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

Dieter Oßwald, film correspondent for the Guild of German Film Art Theaters, writes that Bratton's impressive feature debut, which he describes as a "queer Full Metal Jacket", tells of a chapter of intolerance, discrimination and homophobia in the U.S., where until 2005 the official motto in the U.S. military was still "don't ask, don't tell" and coming out in uniform was considered unthinkable. In this context, Oßwald quotes an instructor in the film: "If we kicked all the gays out of the Army, there would be no more Marines." Showing such an ambivalent figure is part of the dramaturgical cleverness of the drama, which does not leave conflicts in the cliché, but deliberately presents the contradictions.

Accolades