Film Review: Sing Sing

Sing Sing
Director: Greg Kwedar
Black Bear Pictures, Marfa Peach Company and Edith Productions
In Theaters: 08.16

There are many reasons why film and the performing arts have been a driving force in my life, one being that art has the power to take us anywhere. In the case of Sing Sing, the audience is transported inside a maximum security prison in New York, while the film’s characters use the stage to transport themselves out.

Inspired by the true story of the Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA) program at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility, the film follows a group of incarcerated men who are use theatre as a way to focus their energy and minds. A wrongfully convicted prisoner, Divine G (Colman Domingo, If Beale Street Could Talk, Rustin), uses his considerable skills as an actor and writer to create a safe space where the incarcerated men can find a shared purpose, working alongside Brent Buell (Paul Raci, Sound of Metal), a playwright, director and activist who volunteers at the prison. As the the RTA closes a successful Shakespearean production,  they hold a meeting to discuss their next production. As a gruff new incarcerated man, Clarence Maclin (who plays himself) joins the group, he suggests shaking things up with a comedy, and soon, the group is developing an original work entitled called Breakin’ The Mummy’s Code. The play will use the premise of time travel to bring cowboys, ancient Egyptians, Robin Hood, Freddy Kruegerand Hamlet together all in one unforgettable performance—if they can all get along and work together. While Maclin’s hardened demeanor and tendency to pick fights with others creates obstacles, both Brent and Divine G see potential for him to be an asset to the program as the program acts as an asset to him. Throughout the collaborative process, the incarcerated men confront the decisions that led them to prison, and through the RTA, they challenge traditional notions of masculinity, reignite their imaginations and rediscover their capacity for joy and resilience. 

Sing Sing is a profound and beautiful film about creating the best of times in the worst of times and places, and director Greg Kweder (Transpecos) invites the audience to share in each cathartic moment with with both the cast of Sing Sing and the cast of Breakin’ The Mummy’s Code—which are made up in large part of the same people, as former incarcerated men and members of the RTA play themselves in the film. While it has some heavy moments and never lets us forget where these men are, Sing Sing is a rare prison film that is more interested in finding joy and beauty than in hammering home the brutal reality of life in the worst place on earth. Kweder and his screenwriters assumed that their audience has a certain cineliteracy, and trusts that we remember the nightmarish moments of The Shawshank Redemption and don’t need to see them again for context. The low-key visual style affords the audiences a taste of being right there in thick of things while affording us the comfort of being able to step back and merely observe if we so choose, though the shared energy, determination and humor of this troupe of committed performers will make you feel swept up in the desire to be a part of something grand and meaningful more often than not. It most certainly doesn’t make you think “I wish I was in prison” for a moment, though it’s hard to watch the film and not think of yourself in these men’s shoes, and regardless of how they got there, there’s an undeniable feeling of love and respect for their unbreakable spirits and the ways in which they support each other.

Domingo is mesmerizing a Divine G, following up his Oscar nominated performance in Rustin with an electrifying portrayal of a man desperately trying to hold on to the things that make him human, and dedicating himself to keeping other from falling even as he walks the edge. Raci is the kind of actor who can communicate volumes with minimal words and even limited dialogue, and his presence as compassionate as it is commanding. Maclin is clearly the breakthrough discovery here, as an actor with no previous experience on camera who brings a smoldering intensity that brings Denzel Washington to mind, and while he’s likely to be relegated mostly to supporting roles on screen, he shows us inSing Sing that he will forever tower as a leading man in life. Sean San Jose (Another Barrio) as Mike Mike, Divine G’s roommate, and Sean Dino Johnson, another RTA member playing himself, provide transcendent moments of humanity and dignity that had me leaving the screening wanting to be a better person and to do more with my life.

After a few weeks of mediocrity and outright misfires, Sing Sing is a much needed injection of art and soul into the bloodstream of cinema, mixing heavy drama with humor and humanity. It’s a heartfelt plea for a society driven by empathy instead of apathy, yet it never surrenders to the urge to be manipulative or didactic. By simply holding the mirror up to nature, Sing Sing makes a powerful case for the importance of creativity and storytelling in all of our lives, and it’s a rejuvenating, hopeful and inspiring work that made me feel grateful to be alive. –Patrick Gibbs

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