Greg Kwedar’s “Sing Sing” takes place in a maximum-security prison and depicts the real Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA) program.
Prisoners incarcerated at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in New York partake in theatrical productions and actor workshops.
It’s been filmed as a pseudo-documentary, with the majority of the running time focusing on the prisoners as they become actors. The driven amateurs struggle and excel with their director to prepare for a production that is an amalgam of genres they created together.
Adding to the feel of realism? The film was shot in buildings that used to function as prisons and key members of the supporting cast are former prisoners who participated in the RTA program. If this sounds like the film will be heavy-handed, preachy and feel like a PSA, I’m happy to report that this is nothing like that.
“Sing Sing” focuses on the tireless director (Paul Raci from “Sound of Metal”) and an inmate named John (Colman Domingo) who is invested in the latest play but also anxiously awaits an upcoming parole hearing.
Kwedar’s film sustains its documentary feel not only from the filmmaking but the acting, which is a credit to how persuasive the performances are. The scenes that feel like narrative busywork (like the eventual parole hearing or the first time a prisoner has been out in public in years) are given a fresh, raw interpretation.
The let’s-put-on-a-show angle only occasionally wanders in the second act but even the inevitable narrative requirements don’t drag this into formula. There is suspense in the decision of John’s parole officers, as well as the questions as to whether the play being rehearsed will be ready by opening night, let alone cohere into something good.
The scene where the actors are instructed by their director to mentally visit the best moment of their lives and share it with one another is one of many that made me cry. I was taken by the rawness here, as well as the compassion.
“Sing Sing” is a tribute and demonstration of theater’s transformative power – whoever these men are and whatever the specifics of their sentence, they give their all and more to the opportunity to perform.
Ciara Lacy’s powerful documentary “Out of State” (2017) and Michael Almereyda’s “This So-Called Disaster” (2003) a fly-on-the-wall look at an all-star production of a Sam Shephard play, are two impactful works that explore the subjects within “Sing Sing.”
“Ghostlight,” a little sleeper that made waves earlier in the year, likewise showed how theater can create a community of artists that provides comfort, even healing.
Domingo’s performance is extraordinary. I’ve been a fan of his for a while (of all things, Colman’s scene-stealing turn in the 2020 “Candyman” remake made me take notice of his work). It’s easy to pinpoint why Colman is so exceptional here: good luck catching him act.
The ensemble around him is likewise, unforced and authentic in their work.
When “Sing Sing” addresses the lives within and outside the prison, and how inmates are working their way through the system, it’s compelling. Yet the majority of the film is about the rehearsal process and the universal way establishing trust and authority in the company of actors proves every bit as essential as line memorization.
“Sing Sing” resists easy manipulation, prison-movie formula or even social commentary. Instead, this impactful and engrossing drama reflects on how creative collaborations provide true escape and lasting bonds.
This is easily one of the best films of 2024.
Three and a Half stars
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