I watched Sing Sing back in early August. Kind of a last minute decision, really. Coming off a hectic July at work I found myself with the chance to duck out early one night. I took the opportunity and ended up at a late night screening of Sing Sing. In my car after the movie I jumped in our group Slack to tell everyone I had just seen one of the year’s best movies and a shoo-in for the annual Empathy List we put out. Four months later I stand by that proclamation and after the film picked up a couple wins at this week’s Gotham Awards I felt compelled to get my thoughts on the movie on the record.
The film follows a group of inmates serving time at Sing Sing Maximum Security Prison. They’re part of a program called Rehabilitation Through the Arts. They stage and perform plays. The leader of the group, as it were, is Divine G (Colman Domingo). G is the playwright and star actor. The other inmates are played by men who were participants in the real-life RTA program the film is based on. This includes Clarence Maclin (winner of the best supporting actor awards at the Gothams), David Giraudy, Patrick Griffin, Jon-Adrian Velazquez, and Sean Johnson.
Sing Sing is about redemption and salvation, finding purpose and hope, finding connection within a system designed to break people down. It’s about finding a way to open yourself up to the world, to embrace vulnerability. It’s about the power of expression, artistically and personally. There are scenes where the characters share memories of young love, daydreams, childhood memories. There are moments where the characters free themselves from the reality of their situation and let themselves be free.
While the film is largely focused on finding and reinforcing positivity, writer-director Greg Kwedar and the exemplary cast never lose sight of the reality of the characters’ situation. There are two edits in particular that capture everything about where these characters are and the fragility of their lives, of life in general. Both times the film cuts to a mail delivery. G explains earlier in the film that if parole is granted to them, they’ll received a single letter. The thicker the envelope, the harsher the news is. We see the delivery of thick and thin envelopes, both carrying the weight of the world.
There’s such compassion in the filmmaking. The mournful score by Bryce Dessner feels like a comforting arm around the characters, around the viewers. Each performer gets at their moment to shine, and the support from the other actors is palpable in every scene. The emphasis on the humanity of everyone is frequently overwhelming. It rides the line between everyone being in this together and everyone having to walk their own path.
Sing Sing is a special film. As we get to the end of the year and go through awards season I hope everyone seeks this film out. It’s one of the year’s best, and just an incredible artistic achievement.
