Upamanyu Biswas
The 2022 drama film, ‘The Inspection,’ depicts the semi-autobiographical tale of Elegance Bratton in his feature directorial debut. The narrative follows Ellis French, a Black gay man — who is based on the filmmaker’s younger self — as he enlists in the military after spending years as a homeless person. Thrown out of the house by his mother because of being gay, Ellis has to learn to fend for himself on the streets while seeking acceptance in her eyes. In real life, Bratton’s personal journey became the basis for the film’s story and protagonist, who acted as a vessel for the struggles faced by the director as he was growing up.
Elegance Bratton Went From Residing in a Loving Home to Living on the Streets at 16
Elegance Bratton was born on May 3, 1979, to Inell Carol Jones. He grew up in Jersey City, New Jersey, as a boy among a family of black women. His mother was 16 at the time she gave birth to him, so his earliest memories revolve around a lot of libraries and classroom environments because she was still completing her education. At the age of 7, the family moved to Phillipsburg, where Bratton felt a bit out of place due to them being one of the only black people in the town. “I didn’t necessarily fit in on a bunch of levels. I was bookish, I had a strange name, and I was a good student. I was bullied a bunch. Having a single mother also made it tough,” he said in an interview.
Bratton said he was kicked out of his home at the age of 16 by his mother because of being gay. He moved to New York City’s West Village area, where he lived on Christopher Street, a renowned place for the LGBTQ+ rights movement. “I wasn’t quite in a homeless shelter but wasn’t sleeping indoors either,” he said of his time as a homeless person. Some days, he would starve and have no money to commute. During this period, his mother allowed him to return home from time to time, suggesting he should join the military.
Finding Purpose in the Military as a Filmmaker
After 10 years of homelessness, Elegance Bratton decided to follow his mother’s advice and enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, joining them in November 2005. In the military, he served as a Combat Camera Production Specialist at Camp H. M. Smith in Hawaii. His time in the army helped revive his sense of purpose. He said, “My life remarkably changed for the better. Over time, once you learned what it is to be a marine and what it means to wear this uniform, it became empowering.” Following his 5-year stint in the army, Bratton completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in African American Studies and Anthropology and received a Master of Fine Arts degree in Writing and Directing from the New York University Tisch School of the Arts in 2019.
The Tragic Loss of His Mother Reshaped His Life
In February 2020, Bratton’s feature directorial debut, ‘The Inspection,’ was greenlit by A24; which is a semi-autobiographical narration about the director’s life as a homeless person and his subsequent stint at the army. Tragically, three days after the news, he learned that his mother, Inell, had passed away. It was actually his sister who was charged with aggravated manslaughter for the stabbing death of their mother. Bratton was heartbroken as he had not spoken with her for around ten years. “Unfortunately, we didn’t have a chance to resolve anything,” he said to the Los Angeles Times. “My mom was a very complicated woman — she was the first person to ever love me completely. She was also the first person to ever reject me wholly.”
In November 2023, he broke the news of his sister’s conviction in the case. Taking to Instagram, Bratton said, “I found out my sister was convicted of aggravated manslaughter for stabbing my mother last week. I want to thank all of you for your prayers/support during these difficult years. I’m saddened by this outcome. I hope the judge shows mercy on my sister during sentencing. I believe this is the right outcome even though it doesn’t make me feel any better. I’m grateful to god for this small bit of closure.” He dedicated ‘The Inspection’ to Inell’s memory, with the mother-son relationship between his protagonist, Ellis French, and Inez French playing a pivotal part in the narrative.
Elegance Bratton is a Celebrated Filmmaker Today
Over the years, Elegance Bratton has cemented his name as one of the leading voices in the entertainment industry. After the release of ‘The Inspection,’ he has remained engaged in his craft while also collecting several accolades for the film’s success. The director went on to helm an episode of Disney+’s ‘Growing Up.’ A few months later, his debut feature film won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Independent Motion Picture. Expressing his gratitude, he said, “It means the world to me that my community embraces this film. W.E.B Duboise is probably the most influential voice in my head when I contemplate the black condition in the US and the world. He’s my biggest hero! He also started the [NAACP] as a black gay man.”
Bratton added, “I’m so grateful to be held and for my voice to be prioritized. My mother used to say to me every morning to be a credit to my race.” On June 29, 2023, Bratton announced that he was working on a new documentary film, ‘The Night Disco Died,’ based on the Disco Demolition Night incident of 1979 at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois. “On a day when a black man insisted on killing affirmative action in the United States, I am ready to push forward with my new film [The Night Disco Died],” he said. “In times like these when our voices are stifled and our histories obscured so that the guilty can inherit privilege we must always raise our voices even louder and center the radical possibilities.” The director is passionate about bringing to light Black Queer subject matters that are not covered in mainstream media.
In the same year, Bratton also scored his first TV episode directorial credit for the episode titled ‘Daphne’ of ‘American Horror Stories’ season 3. His documentary film, ‘Hell Fighter,’ based on the life of James Reese Europe, a Black jazz artist who was the lieutenant of the Harlem Hellfighters unit during World War I, is set to be another notch on his directorial belt. Sharing his thoughts on the project, Bratton told Variety, “As a veteran and artist like James Reese Europe, I immediately knew I wanted to tell his story. WWI was driven by Europe’s desire for control of Africa — there is a cruel irony in that the Hellfighters believed the only way to gain full meaning of U.S. citizenship was to sacrifice their lives for an America consumed with their own degradation.”
Elegance Bratton is a Happily Married Man
In 2017, Bratton married his producer and writing partner, Chester Algernal Gordon, with whom he has collaborated on several of his creative projects. The pair met each other through a dating app in 2014 and have been together since. They have managed to maintain a healthy balance between their professional and romantic sides as they co-run the production company Freedom Principle. In 2021, the pandemic caused them to move from New York to Baltimore, Maryland. “We wanted to buy a house in a city where us buying a house could be helpful to that city and helpful to Black people. So we bought a house in Baltimore,” Bratton said.
“And we’re a part of a huge community of filmmakers that are in Baltimore like Sam Pollard, Terence Nance, Bradford Young, Radha Blank, Nikyatu, Shawn Peters. There’s a real community of Black cinema there,” he added. Bratton and Gordon are in a loving relationship with one another. The couple celebrated their anniversary and Valentine’s together, regularly sharing posts about their love. They are grateful to be in one another’s lives and continue to inspire their personal and career goals. On June 26, 2024, Bratton was invited as an official member of The Academy Awards, which the director considered a pleasant surprise and one he was excited to be a part of.
Read more: Inell C. Jones Tribute on The Inspection: How Did Elegance Bratton’s Mother Die?
