The Inspection. 2022. Written and directed by Elegance Bratton. With Jeremy Pope, Gabrielle Union, Bokeem Woodbine. DCP. 95 min.
Elegance Bratton’s breathtaking narrative debut follows Ellis, a Black, gay young man who, shunned by his mother, has been living on the streets and decides to enlist in the Marine Corps. Like his documentary about unhoused queer youth in New York City, Pier Kids (2019), this is Bratton’s own journey, brought to life in a revelatory performance by Jeremy Pope. The Inspection unfolds over weeks of basic training, charting the grueling regimen designed to break down recruits physically and mentally. In Bratton’s complex portrait of the military at the height of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, Ellis navigates prejudice and harassment but also finds unexpected sources of strength and camaraderie—and moments of homoerotic frisson, orchestrated by the film’s superb camerawork—in a deeply moving story of becoming.
For members at the Explore category and above, tickets will become available two weeks before the screening date, starting at 10:30 a.m. Additional tickets will be available to members and the general public one week before the screening date, also at 10:30 a.m. Please note that space is extremely limited and tickets will be in high demand.