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Perhaps the single greatest scene in any movie released last year was the one where Colman Domingo’s character — a convict named Divine G — pleads his case during a clemency hearing in the startling prison drama Sing Sing. He tells the examining committee about the theatre programme that he has spearheaded at the facility, and how uplifting the experience has been not just for him, but each and every prisoner who has participated in it. The scene purposefully recalls the many similar moments in The Shawshank Redemption, in which a hopeful Red, played by Morgan Freeman, desperately begs for mercy. It isn’t a flashy scene, but one that relies almost entirely on Domingo’s (mostly reactionary) performance — easily the best that he has delivered in his career.
The same is true of the film itself. Directed by Greg Kwedar, Sing Sing debuted on Max after a negligible theatrical run abroad. Based on the real-life Rehabilitation Through the Arts programme that is conducted at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility in New York, the movie features a handful of ex-convicts playing semi-fictionalised versions of themselves. This gives it a layer of authenticity that would’ve been difficult to achieve with professional actors. There’s a rawness to the drama that’s mostly missing from mainstream American cinema these days, although Sing Sing — the movie premiered at Sundance in 2023 — doesn’t exactly qualify as mainstream.
Shot in grainy 16mm film by cinematographer Pat Scola, Sing Sing feels both immersive yet alienating. Divine G is a thoughtful man who has made the grave mistake of hanging onto hope. He alleviates his pain by putting every ounce of his energy into the RTA programme, where he’s considered a star performer and writer. On the side, Divine G strives to prove his innocence and regain his freedom. While putting together a new production, he becomes fascinated by an inmate named Divine Eye. Played by the real ex-con himself, Divine Eye is a man with an innate talent for acting, but it’s no secret that he’s a difficult person to deal with.
For some reason, however, he shows up to the troupe’s first creative meeting — he’s almost ashamed, like an addict attending an Al Anon session. The group is led by the director Brent, played in the movie by Oscar nominee Paul Raci. He’s a no-nonsense man who puts the inmates through acting exercises and performs perhaps the most difficult task of them all: managing the egos of a dozen bruised men. It’s clear that he’s been around the block himself, but the movie doesn’t dwell on his (or any other character’s) past at all. The thing about prison movies is that they largely ignore who the characters used to be on the outside. Locked up, sometimes for life, they get the rare opportunity to reintroduce themselves the world.
As far as the audience is concerned, Divine G is a gent of the first order — a learned man with an incredible talent, and a flair for leadership. But he’s doing time. Every scene in Sing Sing is laced with an undercurrent of frustration. Sometimes, it stems from a conflict between characters.
Divine G assumes that the group will perform one of his own plays until the other members suggest otherwise. It’s too serious, they declare. Why not do a comedy instead? There’s enough heartbreak around them anyway; what the inmates really need is a good laugh. A reluctant Divine G agrees, but he scoffs condescendingly when the others demand that their comedy play include ridiculous elements like a time-travel subplot, and absurd characters like a pharaoh.
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Tension erupts when Divine Eye is chosen to play the only serious role in the play, one that Divine G had earmarked for himself. But over time, the two men form a bond that isn’t unlike the one that Red and Andy Dufresne forged in The Shawshank Redemption. Like that classic, Sing Sing is a deeply sentimental film, but it’s more sneaky in its ways. The realism of Kwedar’s filmmaking might perhaps throw audiences off — despite its name, the prison is a violent place, where death can strike at any moment. Divine G knows it. Divine Eye knows it. Their buddy Mike Mike knows it. “We here to become human again, to put on nice clothes and dance around and enjoy the things that is not in our reality,” one character says in deeply heartfelt moment, underlining the film’s central thesis.
Sing Sing is filled with such moments of profundity. It’s a life-affirming drama about resilience and hope, the often indescribable bond of male friendship, and the transformative power of art. It wasn’t widely seen upon release, but, having already borrowed thematically from The Shawshank Redemption, it can perhaps mimic that film’s slow and steady path to popularity as well.
Sing Sing
Director – Greg Kwedar
Cast – Colman Domingo, Clarence Maclin, Sean San José, Paul Raci
Rating – 4.5/5
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