Devastating and delightful, Sing Sing offers a glimpse into the life of incarcerated men rehabilitating with art
Movie
United States of America
English
Drama
2024
GREG KWEDAR
Clarence Maclin, Colman Domingo, David "Dap" Giraudy
107 min
TLDR
Don’t let the playfulness fool you, this is a solid tearjerker. Prepare the tissues.
What it's about
In the notorious maximum security prison Sing Sing, a handful of inmates participate in the Rehabilitation Through the Arts program, which stages a play every six months. There, unspoken leader Divine G (Colman Domingo) strikes a friendship with newcomer Clarence Maclin (who plays himself).
The take
“Art heals” is a cliche at this point, but if you want a rich example of how that aphorism is true, look no further than prison rehabilitation programs. And if you want an example of that, Sing Sing is a delicate yet gut-punching film about inmates participating in a theater program. We mainly follow Divine G, a seasoned thespian who truly believes that art heals, and Divine Eyes, a newcomer who is skeptical about the idea of it. Their relationship starts rocky—as Divine Eyes says, theater “doesn’t change the fact that [he’s] a gangster”—but they eventually help each other both in the play and their personal lives. Through their real-life stories, we learn about wrongful convictions, as well as the dehumanizing treatment and suffocating negligence inmates go through. But unlike most prison films, there’s a softness to Sing Sing that’s partly caused by the use of a 16mm camera and natural lighting (the facility is surprisingly open, with large glass windows reminding inmates, painfully, of what they’re missing out on) and by the film’s willingness to show characters in their most vulnerable state. Without sacrificing veracity, they open up about their feelings, hopes, and dreams, chucking preconceived notions of masculine toughness. It’s fascinating too how the film can elicit such powerful emotions without resorting to melodrama. A simple look from Divine G’s eyes is enough to devastate you. Whether art can fix a person is debatable, but Sing Sing proves it’s a question worth exploring for a lifetime.
What stands out
The real crime here is snubbing Clarence Maclin for the major acting awards. Also, the parole scene will also have you bawling in no time.