Curious that this is written and directed by the man who this is about. It's also curious that it starts off by telling us that it is "inspired by actual events" indicating that some of this is fiction coming from the person it is about. One would think it would all be factual given its creator, but perhaps there were legalities involved. Beyond that cautious curiosity, this is a straight forward well made movie. Nothing fancy or too intricate, but a tale well told of a homeless young gay man, rejected by his homophobic mother, who is smart enough to know he has to do something with his life in his world of limited opportunities, so he joins the Marines. Most of the the rest of the entire film takes place in boot camp. Other than how he is exposed as being gay, much of the rest is believable and Jeremy Pope in the lead gives a strong performance. Raul Castillo, in a fascinatingly written role (but is it true?!) is also excellent and Bokeem Woodbine is as unpleasant as he is supposed to be. The ending is a bit abrupt, but its simplicity works. Feels more like something made for the small screen rather the big one, but it is a solid film, fact or fiction.
Review of The Inspection
