Despite its title, Sing Sing is not a musical, although it is a true story about a theater program — at a correctional facility. Inspired by an Esquire article, “The Sing Sing Follies.”
Director Greg Kwedar’s tender film, co-written with Clint Bentley, is yet another prison drama. However, it is refreshingly different from all other lockup films you’ve seen, avoiding the usual tropes from beginning to finish.
For starters, it starts with a stirring performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream delivered by Colman Domingo (The Color Purple, Rustin, Selma, Lincoln, Fear the Walking Dead) as Divine G. His character’s role as Hamlet was not meant to be, as that role goes to a breakout performance by Clarence Maclin (Divine Ey), as himself. In fact, more than 85 percent of the cast participated in Sing Sing’s actual Rehabilitation Through the Arts ( R.T.A.) program. The film looks raw and real too. While the film wasn’t shot inside the actual prison, it captures the raw, gritty authenticity of life behind bars, with decommissioned prisons and a New York school standing in for the infamous facility.
This unlikely duo elevates the film into something truly special. It’s so devoid of cynicism that when words like “beloved” are spoken, they resonate in a way that makes you feel like you know these characters intimately. No grand moral lectures here—just a life story told through the cluttered walls of Divine G’s cell, plastered with documents, photos, and sticky notes that tell us all we need to know.
Finding hope in even the bleakest of circumstances has been done many times over, from Cool Hand Luke (1967) to what is often noted as America’s favorite movie ever, The Shawshank Redemption (1994). Sing Sing is beautifully different from any prison film before it. There are no reductive scenes with a corrupt warden, a savior character, sexual violence, visitation scenes, shanks, riots, or prison breaks.
Sing Sing stands out as a rare summer gem—a film that will make you smile, cry, and genuinely feel something. Its unhurried pace and authentic portrayal of hope offer the perfect antidote to the saccharine overload of overly cynical, loud, and hollow blockbusters (cough, Deadpool & Wolverine).
In a nutshell: Sing Sing hits all the right notes. It's a great summer surprise.
Where to see it: In theaters now.
Would it be better with Olivia Colman? Of course it would, but this cast was part of the story literally.
Oscar potential: Colman (nominated last year for Rustin) and Clarence have a real shot for actor and supporting actor nominations, which would be an amazing story. Picture, Screenplay and Screenplay are also at play here. We just need
voters that can remember back to summer.
The Ten Buck Review: Worth ten bucks.
