Sing Sing – REVIEW

Colman Domingo and Clarence Maclin in Sing Sing


At the time of this writing, the Oscar nominations are coming tomorrow morning, and I’m still in that catch-up period of the supposed nominees that will show up there. Out of all of my blindspots, Wicked is definitely the biggest, but I still have to see a couple of them. Sing Sing, out of what I could find, just wasn’t released at all in my area this past July. I saw the trailer for it when I watched I Saw the TV Glow, and it looked phenomenal. If you haven’t seen it or haven’t even heard of it since A24 has been doing an awful job at marketing it, this is based on the true story of the Rehabilitation Through the Arts program at Sing Sing Maximum Security Prison. Divine G, played here by Colman Domingo, is incarcerated for a crime he didn’t commit and finds his purpose through RTA with his fellow inmates by creating their own productions. Outside of Domingo and Paul Raci, most of the cast is made up of real-life alumni of RTA who were incarcerated in Sing Sing. What felt the most impressive about Sing Sing is the flow of the movie. It’s not exactly an energetic movie, but it felt very open, letting every scene play out until it felt natural to move onto the next scene. I felt that the most during the scenes where the group would rehearse their play, an original production that has everything thrown in it, like time travel, Hamlet, and Freddy Krueger. The two big performances are from Domingo and Clarence Maclin (who plays himself), and they’re both fantastic to watch. I really thought they’d go down the route of them having a rivalry, but I was pleasantly surprised with the direction they’d take with them. It’s tough to put into words the level of emotion that’s infused into Sing Sing, but it really is the magic of community and how people can heal through the arts. I know that it sounds like you may have seen a movie like this before, but I promise that you haven’t. It tore me apart and put me back together over and over again emotionally, but Sing Sing is a wonderful thing. Seek this out.


Ryan’s Grade: A