Upamanyu Biswas
In ‘The Inspection,’ a young Black gay man named Ellis French becomes the target of bullying and hazing during his Marine Corps boot camp training because of his sexuality. After years of homelessness, Ellis enlists in the army to find purpose, only to be discriminated against by his squad leader, Laurence Harvey, and head drill instructor, Leland Laws. The two torment the protagonist, making his life hell and forcing him to consider whether the cost is worth the effort. They play an antagonistic role in Ellis’ journey to join the army, often holding him back or playing dirty tricks to cheat him out of his berth!
The Fictionalized Real-Life Origins of Leland Laws
‘The Inspection’ is a semi-autobiographical narration of writer and director Elegance Bratton’s life. As such, it dives into the real trials and tribulations faced by Bratton as a Black gay man while serving in the army and during his boot camp. While compositing Leland Laws, the antagonistic drill instructor who makes Ellis’ life miserable, the director took inspiration from his time in the military and a specific person he worked under to create the fictional character. As such, the harsh treatment handed out by Laws toward Ellis is based on the abuse endured by Bratton, although the director admits that he was not hazed to the degree presented in his narrative.
Bokeem Woodbine, who plays Laws, had several discussions with Bratton to piece together the psychology of the drill instructor, who mistreats Ellis because of his being gay. He said, “Because Elegance had gone through the experience, working with the person that Laws is based on, I was just so blessed. I had the opportunity to ask him questions. He was very forthcoming and candid about who his Laws was, if you understand what I’m saying.” As a result of his powerful post, Laws often employs dubious training methods, which puts Ellis under immense stress, even nearly costing him his life on one occasion.
The drill sergeant role is a well-versed archetype within military dramas that focuses on the brutal boot camp training undertaken by aspiring soldiers. A famous example is Gunnery Sergeant Hartman from ‘Full Metal Jacket,‘ a character that Woodbine avoided emulating while portraying Laws for fear of employing similar mannerisms. While the drill sergeant may be a harsh taskmaster, he is not entirely a man who is cruel for cruelty’s sake. Due to several deployments in Laws’ past, he has become jaded after enduring the loss of several friends and comrades, which has led to him instilling a sense of steel in his words and methods while training the new recruits.
In the case of Ellis, Laws is conflicted by his being gay while also admiring his warrior resolve, which pushes him to endure the harshest training practices. Therefore, while the character has a real-life counterpart based on Bratton’s experiences, he is also a composite of several dramatized elements, which make him an enduring character who is contained within the realm of fiction.
The Roots of Laurence Harvey
Like several elements in ‘The Inspection’ which are inspired by the real-life experiences of Elegance Bratton, the character of Laurence Harvey is composed from the director’s time in the military as well as the experiences of other Queer members who were subjected to discriminatory hazing. Harvey antagonizes Ellis from the moment he finds out about his being gay, subjecting him to unfair beatings and tampering with his military exams to fail him. The abuse he metes out is reflective of Bratton’s personal experiences, although the director admitted he wasn’t put through the specific situations the protagonist has to endure.
In many ways, Harvey’s attitude towards Ellis parallels the underlying sentiment within the military during the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” era when LGBTQ+ members had to serve by disguising their sexuality from their peers and superiors. “‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ got its name in the ’90s, but in reality, queer service members were forced to serve in silence for almost 80 years,” Bratton told the Los Angeles Times. Harvey’s actions are further exacerbated by the encouragement of Leland Laws, the head drill instructor, who turns Ellis into a target and makes him vulnerable to bullying by his fellow squadmate.
Therefore, while the character constantly roughhouses Ellis, abusing his leadership role within the recruits and using his good graces with Laws to mentally torture the protagonist, he grudgingly accepts him as a member of the Marines eventually. Harvey’s actions are misguided on the basis of his irrational discrimination. However, there are links to the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” era of the military when similar attitudes were engendered among the soldiers. Ultimately, he is a fictional character who is partially derived from the personal stories of Elegance Bratton and a specific period in Marine history.
Read More: The Inspection: Is Rosales Based on a Real Marine?
