A24’s latest feature Sing Sing isn’t the first movie based on a real-life story to feature actual people from the true tale within its cast – and nor will it be the last. However, there’s something really special about how they are used here that makes this prison drama one of the year’s most beautifully affectionate, authentic, and sincere films.
Based on the real-life ‘Rehabilitation Through the Arts’ (RTA) program at the Sing Sing maximum security prison in New York, we follow the story of John ‘Divine G’ Whitfield (portrayed by Euphoria’s Colman Domingo). Imprisoned for a crime that he claims he didn’t commit, John finds purpose by acting in the RTA’s small theater group alongside other incarcerated men, the majority of which are played by former inmates who were actually a part of that program.
In the spotlight
Throughout the story, we meet these men from all different backgrounds and walks of life, sharing only two things in common: the fact that they are imprisoned at Sing Sing and are searching for an escape through theater. All giving brilliant performances, you wouldn’t be able to tell that they aren’t professional actors, with an impressive roll call during the end credits emphasizing just how many cast members are former inmates.
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Although the always-spectacular Domingo delivers what our Sing Sing review accurately describes as a “soulful performance”, he quite simply isn’t the star of the show here. That honor lies at the feet of the ex-prisoners who come toe-to-toe with the Oscar nominee with ease.
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For Clarence ‘Divine Eye’ Maclin, this is particularly true, as the stand-out in the stellar line-up. Sentenced to 17 years at Sing Sing for robbery, Maclin found a new lease of life through the RTA program, helping pen this movie upon being released from jail. In the film, he portrays a younger version of himself and it is remarkable seeing him go from aggressively threatening a fellow inmate to casually dropping a verse from King Lear minutes later. He also wows as Hamlet during rehearsals for the group's play, making Maclin one to watch out for in the future.
Becoming human again
Whilst these former prisoners all bring wonderful performances to Sing Sing, they also give the movie the authenticity that makes it shine. Every word they speak clearly comes from the heart and is bursting with truthfulness.
The film is therefore punctuated with very real, raw moments. When Maclin asks the RTA group if they can perform a comedy next rather than a drama as the inmates need something to make them smile - that’s real. When a fellow prisoner says that he’s part of the program to become human again - that’s real. When Maclin says he feels like he’s always been performing as he got put in a ‘gangster’ box when he was young - that’s also real. His words that he has been "playing a role his whole life" will long stay with you.
In fact, one of the film’s best scenes sees a released prisoner visit his former RTA companions, sharing with them what life is like on the outside, emphasizing that whilst there are highs there are real lows too and breaking down as he discusses the passing of his beloved dog. Moments as honest as this one feel rare on the screen and therefore something to be treasured.
Dying is easy, comedy is hard
You are guaranteed, then, to feel your eyes welling up during certain points of Sing Sing, but crucially it doesn’t forget to embrace joy and laughter too. Like other prison dramas, it does depict the brutality of life on the inside as well as the struggles ex-offenders face upon release, but there is also plenty to laugh and smile at here.
At times it is a funny movie, especially since the production the inmates are developing is truly wild. Putting together all the various elements they wanted to include, their play, titled ‘Breakin’ the Mummy’s Code’, features everything from Hamlet to gladiators and Freddy Krueger to time travel, with the result being, well, quite something. Domingo’s John may warn them early on that “dying is easy, comedy is hard,” but it’s pretty clear that they crack it – and the same is true for the movie itself.
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Ultimately, Sing Sing is an uplifting experience as it celebrates the healing power of the arts – even if that is through a bizarre play where a child killer encounters a group of Egyptian mummies. But hey, it works for them!
What stops the movie from easily tipping over into being overly earnest are those former inmates within its cast who ground it with their honesty, becoming the roots of this gorgeous film. Whilst they are healed through theater, we, as the audience, are healed by watching them “become human again”.
Sing Sing is in theaters now. For more on what to watch, check out the rest of our Big Screen Spotlight series.
