The Inspection’s Elegance Bratton, Jeremy Pope & Gabrielle Union Interview

In writer-director Elegance Bratton’s directorial debut The Inspection, which held its world premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, he explores themes of self-identity and belonging, based on his own true experiences. Following young Marine Corps recruit Ellis French (played by Jeremy Pope), Bratton chronicles the raw and personal story of French’s journey to self-acceptance through his time in the military during the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” era. French joins after his homophobic mother, played by Gabrielle Union in the film, kicks him out at 16, leaving the young boy homeless and alone. During their interview, Pope and Union reveal how The Inspection’s “beautiful” script and Bratton’s “brilliant soul” are what hooked them to join the project, discuss the weight of filming emotional scenes, and Bratton shares why he chose this particular work as his directorial debut, suggesting he wanted to provide the world with a film that asks us to focus on our “shared humanity.” The three of th