Don’t ask don’t tell. Elegance Bratton had to enter the military with this policy in place, designed to keep gay people in the closet preventing them from defending their country as who they really are. You can’t hide those feelings in the military, as the process is designed to push every person to the breaking point. The Inspection gives us an idea what life is like for an LGBT Marine recruit during Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Spoiler alert: it’s pretty sh*tty.
Ellis (Jeremy Pope) has been living on the streets for years now, thrown out by his mother Inez (Gabrielle Union) for his sexual orientation. Seeing no path forward for himself, Ellis decides to enlist in the Marines. Ellis finds some respite in Instructor Rosales (Raul Castillo) and some of his fellow recruits. However, the Marine path is filled with complications too, as his instructor Leland (Bokeem Woodbine) is intent on removing any “weak” or “girly” men from his regiment.
The Inspection might be the most incisive look at military life since Full Metal Jacket. Apparently large chunks of military recruitment have not changed since 1987. The military training process breaks and remakes everyone in the Marine’s image, clearly a straight badass Christian man. The Inspection’s LGBTQ angle gives more harrowing stakes to the movie, inserting an air of danger/mystery into the proceedings. In the Marines, religious/sexual differences equal imperfections, so it is up to instructor Leland to weed them out of the corps. Poor Ellis stands out like a sore thumb, meaning it’s open season on the man, using every lever of power. There’s constant humiliation from everyone, constant threats of physical violence, and impossible tasks designed for Ellis to get into an “accident.” All of these tactics are designed to force Ellis to quit the Marines, to weed out the imperfection. And everytime, Ellis finds this inner strength to keep going forward, standing proud in the face of outright prejudice, even from people like Inez who are supposed to be in his corner.
Inside the Marines in 2005 (when The Inspection takes place), you can feel the winds of change slowly, finally making their mark. Yes, Leland and recruit Laurence (McCaul Lombardi) are in positions of power because of their commitment to the Marine tradition, but there are others who quietly resist, and rise in the ranks. Part of Ellis’s minefield is finding people like him (LGBTQ), without causing undo attention to himself. Because the minute he lets his guard down to the wrong person, he’s f*cked. What’s fascinating about Elegance Bratton’s tale is how in plain sight in the military other LGBTQ people are. Recruits/instructors, doesn’t matter; some have gotten very good at hiding their true natures, walking the company line while also using their power to affect real change inside the Marines. The best of the LGBTQ corps find quiet moments to encourage the struggling recruits, lending a helping hand where they can, as often as they can, to get more people like them into military power.
The LGBTQ community finally got to be proud soldiers in 2011, when Don’t Ask Don’t Tell was repealed. Now military leaders have to consider sexuality not as a weakness, but just another personality trait to acknowledge and move on from. And, if things start to go backwards, The Inspection is here to remind everyone the dangers of that oppressive regime, and how unfair it is to any brave LGBTQ soul who just wants to serve their country.