Elegance Bratton is letting the world in on the deeply personal story of his life. The Inspection, written and directed by Bratton, follows a young, gay Black man, Ellis French, who was rejected by his mother and left with no other option than to join the Marines. French, who is played by the incredible Jeremy Pope, decides he’s willing to do whatever it takes to succeed in this system that would never accept his true identity.
“When working with Jeremy, we both talked about how our paths and our journeys as Black queer men led us to Ellis French,” Bratton says about Pope’s portrayal of the character they created together.
“There are certain projects that feel like you are truly just a vessel,” Pope begins to say in the trailer, to which Bratton replies, “A vessel for which I can pour out my truth.”
With the multi-talented Gabrielle Union serving as both an executive producer and playing the role of French’s mother, producer Effie Brown knew “magic will happen.” After seeing how well Union and Pope worked together on screen, Brown felt her “job was done.”
This film tells the story of finding strength in community and overcoming the real-life adversity of Elegance Bratton’s life. “We wanted to make sure that the story that he’s been telling this entire time about his life and the real relationship with his mother was interpreted through the film,” producer Chester Gordon explains.
Bokeem Woodbine who plays Leland Laws, sums up the film’s purpose beautifully when he says, “I hope that people realize that we’re all human beings deserving of respect and that treating one another with kindness is not weakness. Empathy is strength.”
The Inspection will be available on demand on December 22nd.