THE INSPECTION

Photo of author

THE INSPECTION
The Inspection (2022) | Movie Review

Movie Info

  • Rating: R (Violence|Language Throughout|Some Nudity|Sexual Content)
  • Genre: Drama, Lgbtq+
  • Original Language: English
  • Director: Elegance Bratton
  • Producer: Chester Algernal Gordon, Effie Brown
  • Writer: Elegance Bratton
  • Release Date (Theaters): Dec 2, 2022 Wide
  • Box Office (Gross USA): $65.0K
  • Runtime: 1h 34m
  • Distributor: A24

Where To Watch

  • In Theatre (Dec 2, 2022)

Cast & Crew

  • 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

Critic Reviews For The Inspection

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz (Dennis Schwartz Movie Review)

An emotionally moving and cathartic Marine basic training drama. Full Review

RATING: B

Reviewed by Robin Cllfford (Reelling Reviews)

This against-all-odds story really brings the obstacles and burdens facing a gay person in our fractured society to the true light of day. It is about overcoming those obstructions and making a life that keeps one’s dignity intact. Full Review

Rating: B

Reviewed by Dennis Harvey (48 Hills)

The Inspection, which also opens in Bay Area theaters on Wed/23, is a much smaller-scaled enterprise. So much so that it’s a rather surprising choice to release smack in the middle of heavy-duty awards competitors—this unstarry, idiosyncratic drama is exactly the sort of film that gets habitually overlooked in favor of more conspicuous prestige efforts when the prizes are doled out at year’s end. Full Review

Reviewed by David Rooney (The Hollywood Reporter)

There’s brutality but also an understated hint of poetry in the way Bratton tells his story from deep inside it, making beautiful use of Baltimore experimental pop group Animal Collective’s richly varied electronic score, which often plays in gentle counterpoint to the harshness of what’s unfolding. Full Review

Reviewed by Justin Chang (Los Angeles Times)

In its most moving and offhandedly momentous moments, The Inspection becomes a chronicle of not just persecution and survival but also solidarity, in which the all-American brotherhood in which Ellis finds himself actually can function as advertised. Full Review

Reviewed by Chase Hutchinson (Collider)

The Inspection proves to be a rich work of personal introspection crossed with a wiser slice of life portrait of an era that can only come when looking back. Full Review

Reviewed by Jesse Hassenger (Paste magazine)

For better and worse, The Inspection seems like the movie Bratton had to make, a story so personal that some of its biggest emotional confrontations start to resemble a therapeutic exercise. Full Review

Reviewed by Joshua Rothkopf (Entertainment)

Union’s sour presence suggests the tougher film that could have been, bookending the movie with a double dose of viciousness; theirs is a relationship that won’t be solved by a crisp uniform. If this is Bratton’s calling card — and it should be — her scenes are the ones that suggest the real promise to come. Full Review

Reviewed by Matt Zoller Seitz (RogerEbert.com)

Some experiences are so profound (and/or scarring) that they elude explication. The Inspection is about that sort of experience, which translates far beyond boot camp and resonates through our lives, until the final trumpet fades. Full Review

Reviewed by Benjamin Lee (The Guardian)

It’s in the film’s queerest moments that things feel most inventive, narratively and visually, as Bratton steps most firmly outside of the hemmed-in army drama formula and finds ways to make his film sit and thrive in the Venn diagram between military machismo and homoeroticism. Full Review

Reviewed by G. Allen Johnson (San Francisco Caronical)

Bratton has made a film that isn’t necessarily anti-military — he is no doubt proud of his service — but pro-humanity. In a sense, Ellis is going through his own personal boot camp. Perhaps the film should have been called “The Introspection. Full Review

Reviewed by Oliver Jones (Observer)

To be successful in confronting, understanding and dismantling the institutional homophobia that continues to be a cancer in American life requires depth, perspective, and a sense of inquiry—three qualities in short supply in The Inspection. Full Review

Reviewed by Mae Abdulbaki (Screen Rant)

The Inspection has a few poignant moments, but its lack of introspection, well-developed character dynamics, and exploration of the systems in place keep the film from reaching its full potential. Full Review

FAQ

How can I watch The Inspection?

In Theatre (Dec 2, 2022)

Who is The Inspection movie based on?

Elegance Bratton’s debut feature is based on his experience going through Marine Corps training as a Black gay man.

Where was The Inspection filmed?

Elegance Bratton, is set to be filmed in the Jackson/Pearl area.

Also Read:

Trailer

Leave a Comment