MPAA Rating: R
USCCB Rating: Not rated at the time of this review
Reel Rating: 4 out of 5 reels
Visiting the imprisoned is probably the most ignored of the corporal works of mercy. But with nearly two million people currently incarcerated in the United States, it needs more attention.
The film Sing Sing, named after the infamous New York prison, is an intimate and profound look at this experience through the eyes of several long-term criminals who struggle to put on a comedic play for their fellows. It’s a beautiful but difficult film, honest and compassionate.
John (Colman Domingo) has been in federal prison for almost thirty years. Rather than let that time go to waste, he started the Rehabilitation through the Arts program (RTA), bringing in theater professionals to direct plays put on by the inmates. When the story begins, he is just finishing King Lear and preparing another serious venture. His fellow groundlings, however, want to write a chaotic original comedy with Egyptian mummies, time travel, Genghis Khan, and even Hamlet.
Needing more players, John encourages drug dealer Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin (played by himself) to audition, only for this greenhorn to snatch the part John wanted to play. This leads to a competitive relationship reminiscent of All About Eve as the production progresses. There are plenty of twists along the way as John applies for parole, Clarence struggles to learn lines, and one unexpected death.
The best aspect of Sing Sing is its striking authenticity. Only two of the characters, John and the play director, are performed by professional actors. The rest are former inmates and real RTA alumni. Their jokes, mannerisms, tattoos, and pain are strikingly real.
The film is set almost entirely indoors, often inside the cells themselves. Cinematographer Pat Scola uses primarily facial close-ups and often frames the camera around corners or blocked off slightly by an object, always giving a slight feeling of claustrophobia, much like the inmates experience. Rarely has a film done a better job creating and conveying empathy with its subjects.
There is a large question looming in the background: why do all this? Why prepare for months to perform a show without pay, that few will see? It feels frivolous, especially to Divine Eye. One inmate confronts his bad attitude:
I saw a man get his throat cut right in front of me. Blood everywhere, and I didn’t even flinch. We do this to remind ourselves that this place is not reality. This isn’t how the world is.
In short, it connects them to the outside world and allows a temporary reprieve from their situation. It gives them perspective, dignity, and purpose. Everyone needs meaning, especially in a place where so much is taken from you on many levels.
Sing Sing largely stays away from any ethical conversations of crime, punishment, or long-term incarceration. Rather, it wisely focuses on the humanity of the prisoners. It is heavily implied that John was falsely accused, but this is somewhat of a distraction. All the other inmates admit their guilt. Divine Eye has been imprisoned several times and assumes he will return once released. However, his experiences in the RTA have changed his perspective, and now he is determined to do better.
While it is certainly just and necessary to remove violent and dangerous criminals from society, it is important to remember that these individuals are still human beings possessing an inherent dignity from God. History is also full of people who changed their lives for the better while in jail, and everyone is capable of conversion.
Storytelling, whether done around a Boy Scout campfire, on a million-dollar film set, or a dilapidated prison gym, illuminates human experience and points us to divine truths. Sing Sing is a testament to the fact that this light can be found in the darkest of places.
At the end of the film, the audience meets some RTA members and sees footage of this actual crazy play. This program has converted hearts and reformed lives; hopefully, it will continue to do so for years to come.
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Thank you for sharing this. I’ll be looking for it on YouTube or another online site one day.
Some correctional facilities shut down options for inmates to perform music during and after Covid. Even opportunities to play instruments for religious services. It’s a shame because that does so much good. If you deprive people of wholesome creative outlets they can turn their energy to less positive things.
For more than ten years now, I have been a pen pal to prison inmates all over the country. I started with 26, now it’s down to less than ten active. Some of them have been released, others just stopped writing. Through their letters, I gained insight of life in prison, how important letters from outside are to them because their families and friends do not care, how they struggle with getting medical attention when they are sick, whether serious or not so serious, how they have to barter their dessert for a postage stamp, the disappointment when they are denied parole after many appearances before the parole board, how scared they were during the pandemic as they shared cramped space with other inmates. One thing that strikes me about them is their intelligence. They can put to shame some people I know with their Master’s degrees in the way they express themselves. They have also found Jesus. One of them has taken several correspondence courses, and he is now a licensed preacher. The same inmate designs beautiful Christmas cards. To my pen pals who are expecting to be paroled soon, I asked them to send me their address so that I can treat them to a nice celebratory dinner. I pray for them regularly. I wish this movie can be shown in prison facilities to give the prisoners hope for their future, or maybe give them the idea of organizing a theater group among themselves.