67. The Inspection; movie review

 

THE INSPECTION

Cert 15

95 mins

BBFC advice: Contains  strong language, sex, discrimination, violence

Thank goodness that workplace obstacles based on sexuality have finally been removed over the past 20 years or so. It took way too long.

I always found the reticence on allowing those with non-straight sexual orioentation in the armed forces a bit tough to understand - did the authorities really think that anyone would be distracted into having rumpy pumpy while on the frontline?

And what makes a straight soldier any better than a gay one, anyway?

In Britain, discrimination laws were put in place in 2000 but it was 11 years later that America moved on from its "Don't ask, don't tell" code.

Anyway, Elegance Bratton, who had found himself ostracised by society and his family, found that the marines gave his life a new direction and adapts his story through his film The Inspection.

This is a raw tale of how a gay man, Ellis French (Jeremy Pope), battles to get through the ultra-tough training of the United States Marines.

He becomes a recruit out of desperation as his life is going off the rails but soon finds that hiding his true self is impossible in such an intense and close-quarter environment.

Thus, sure enough, some of his colleagues and even the trainers try their level best to make him fail but unexpected allies also emerge.

Pope excels as French, a man who knows this is his last hope of finding direction.

But there is no soft soap about Bartton's movie - it is ruddy tough, reflecting just how difficult and competitive it must be to become a marine.

Yep, they are testing to the limit, psychologically and physically.

But, while this is a tense and gripping watch, it is ultimately and uplifting one.

Reasons to watch: Tense, gripping and feels so real

Reasons to avoid: A tad repetitive

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: Photos

Overall rating: 8/10

Did you know? A 2015 survey of over 16,000 service members found that 5.8% of the respondents identified as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. When separated by gender, 1.9% of males identified as gay and 2.0% as bisexual, while 7.0% of females identified as lesbian and 9.1% as bisexual.

The final word. Elegance Bratton: "I’ve always said that this is a pro-troop film, not a pro-military film. When you're in the Marine Corps, you're taught that your body becomes government property. It's not yours until you go back to the civilian world. That’s something very familiar to me in my upbringing—and I didn't know that these straight white boys from Mississippi and Ohio who listen to country music had dilemmas like I had until we all ended up in boot camp and signed up to go off to war."

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