Aarcflick

Director: Elegance Bratton Writer: Elegance Bratton Stars: Jeremy Pope, Gabrielle Union, Bokeem Woodbine Strong performances and some clever reflections between homoeroticism and military-encouraged hypermasculinity elevate an often formulaic drama. Writer-director Elegance Bratton makes a promising and passionate narrative debut with The Inspection, a film loosely inspired by his own story as a gay man joining the army, a harsh and self-flagellating process for someone who had only experienced his sexuality as a punishment. His previous film, the documentary Pier Kids about three homeless LGBTQ+ youth in Manhattan, had already intersected with his own experience as someone who was also queer and homeless, but here he focuses more sharply, turning Ellis (star of theater Jeremy Pope) in a double for himself at age 25, rejected by his cruel and religious mother (Gabrielle Union) and living in a shelter in New Jersey. It's 2005 and driven by the need to feel like his life matters, he ...