As the movie states it was "inspired" by a true story, meaning the characters use fictional names and many of the exact situations and dialog were invented, but as the filmmaker says, everything is accurately autobiographical to the substance of the story.
The main character is Jeremy Pope, a gay black actor, as Ellis French, a gay black man in New Jersey. The story starts in 2005 and the first 12 minutes of the movie shows us his life. He had been on his own since he was 16 and now, at 25 was homeless, spending nights in shelters, and riding the train by skipping over the gates. He looked around. Most of the other men were older and he decided he wanted to make a life for himself.
He and his mother, who had him at 16, were estranged, she did not approve of his being gay. As if she though he could control it and maybe he could decide to be straight. There is a short scene where he goes to her to get his birth certificate, he has decided to join the Marines.
The rest of the movie is during boot camp, the difficult time French had, not so much with the training, more with the anti-gay sentiment he was confronted with.
This is not an easy movie to watch at times but it overall is an excellent story of coming-of-age and setting himself up for a better life. And of course in real life he has become a writer and the director of this movie.
At home on DVD from my public library, the DVD "making of" extra is worthwhile.
The main character is Jeremy Pope, a gay black actor, as Ellis French, a gay black man in New Jersey. The story starts in 2005 and the first 12 minutes of the movie shows us his life. He had been on his own since he was 16 and now, at 25 was homeless, spending nights in shelters, and riding the train by skipping over the gates. He looked around. Most of the other men were older and he decided he wanted to make a life for himself.
He and his mother, who had him at 16, were estranged, she did not approve of his being gay. As if she though he could control it and maybe he could decide to be straight. There is a short scene where he goes to her to get his birth certificate, he has decided to join the Marines.
The rest of the movie is during boot camp, the difficult time French had, not so much with the training, more with the anti-gay sentiment he was confronted with.
This is not an easy movie to watch at times but it overall is an excellent story of coming-of-age and setting himself up for a better life. And of course in real life he has become a writer and the director of this movie.
At home on DVD from my public library, the DVD "making of" extra is worthwhile.