Sometimes a performance just elevates mediocre material. Exhibit A: Jeremy Pope in Elegance Bratton’s “The Inspection.” In fact, Pope is so good that he deserves awards attention for his work as a gay homeless man who decides to enroll into Marine Corps basic training. Pope’s Ellis is run through the usual draining, both emotionally and physically, boot camp process to become a marine. Pope makes you feel every ache and pain he goes through.
The tropes are all here: a sadistic sergeant (a fantastic Bokeem Woodbine), the sympathetic superior (Raúl Castillo), the supportive and non-supportive recruits. However, this actually happened, Pope basically plays Bratton, delving deep into the experiences his filmmaker went through as a gay marine recruit.
The results are pleasantly subtle, but a bit too conventional to fully standout in a genre that’s produced far too many of these types of film. Bratton does try to zero-in a little more on the mythic nature of American masculinity, but, save for his being a gay man, the experience of watching “The Inspection” does feel a tad too familiar.
A subplot involving Ellis’ complicated feelings toward the mother who rejected his homosexuality (Gabrielle Union) weakens the momentum, especially as the movie concludes. It’s odd how the New York Film Festival chose “The Inspection” as its closing night film because, truth be told, it’s just not a very good movie. It’s mostly a showcase for Pope, a highly talented stage actor who finally gets his breakout role here. The draining and cerebral emotions he brings to his character are damn-near impressive. [B-]
Remember when, back in August, we learned “The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth” would be playing in only around 350 U.S. theaters, "maybe fewer"? Well, it's fewer. A lot fewer.