In Elegance Bratton’s deeply moving film inspired by his own story, a young, gay Black man, rejected by his mother and with few options for his future, decides to join the Marines, doing whatever it takes to succeed in a system that would cast him aside. But even as he battles deep-seated prejudice and the grueling routines of basic training, he finds unexpected camaraderie, strength, and support in this new community, giving him a hard-earned sense of belonging that will shape his identity and forever change his life.

For in-depth thoughts on The Inspection, please see my colleague Brandon Lewis’ review from its original NYFF screening here.

Video Quality

The Inspection arrives on Blu-Ray with an impressive 1080p presentation in its original 2.39:1 aspect ratio that looks great in high definition. This is a film shot with a distinct aesthetic to mirror the narrative needs of the film. Color saturation is solid with the stylized color palette presenting moments exactly as intended. Some instances feature pleasing shots of nature that pop off the screen, while other areas of the palette are more hazy and unsteady. Skin tones are natural overall with some exposed skin showing off grime, bruises and scars. The clarity throughout is very impressive with subtle textures in the backgrounds and in the different uniforms coming through perfectly. Black levels have a good amount of depth and do not fall victim to noticeable digital noise outside of a handful of shadowy moments. Lionsgate Home Entertainment has delivered a rock steady high definition presentation here.

Audio Quality

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is perfectly realized here to bring this story to life. One of the first things you will notice with this experience is the atypical score from Animal Collective which brings an uneasy tone to the film that radiates with great fidelity. The soundscape on display here is much more complex than you might expect. This story features the sounds of recruits doing all manner of physical activity, instructors yelling, water splashing around and more emanating from numerous directions. The movie uses environmental sounds very effectively, and the track retains strong detail even when the characters are thrown into chaos. Dialogue comes through crisp and clear as it balances well with the music and the sound effects. The low end comes alive in a formidable way in key moments. This track passes its assessment with flying colors. There are English SDH and Spanish subtitles provided.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Writer-Director Elegance Bratton provides a great commentary track packed with details about his past and how that translated to the film, the emotional process of reexamining the past, the strength and accuracy of the performances, the experience of being without a home, finding your way through a queer existence and more.

Protect and Serve – Making The Inspection: A 14-minute featurette in which the cast and creative team discuss the story, how the performers relate to the characters, the courage of Elegance Bratton telling his story, bringing an emotional honesty to the events in the film, the shooting conditions and more.
Deleted Scenes: Eight minutes of unused material is provided here featuring more moments during and leading up to bootcamp which are interesting on their own but would have drawn out the film a bit more than it needed to.

Final Thoughts

The Inspection finds Elegance Bratton bringing his story to the screen with a strong eye for visual storytelling and creativity in presentation. Where the film stumbles ever so slightly is in the narrative itself, as the story does not quite blossom into what it could be as it ends when it is really hitting its stride. The story as presented feels familiar with obvious changes to the adversity at the center of the journey. Jeremy Pope softens the rough edges with a stellar performance that ranks among the best of last year, and the remainder of the ensemble stand firmly alongside him. Lionsgate Home Entertainment has released a Blu-Ray with a strong A/V presentation and a few decent supplemental features. Even with some weaker points, the film is a really great narrative debut that is well worth your time. Recommended

The Inspection is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Lionsgate Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.