Sing Sing: Movie Review

Cast: Colman Domingo, Clarence Maclin, Sean San Jose
Director: Greg Kwedar

Sing Sing could have been the kind of movie that is all too common within the prison genre.

A film about a group of society's wronged and wrongful men who come together to work in a theatre group within the facility and emerge as better people.

But director Greg Kwedar takes the basics of said trope and turns it into something that's relatable and highly watchable thanks to a compelling central performance from Colman Domingo and by using a raft of men who went through the actual Sing Sing programme in America.

Yet what emerges from the story is a portrait of those caught within a system yet enlivened by some of the opportunities it provides.

Domingo plays Divine G, one of the many actual people who went through the programme - and who wants to play Hamlet in the next show the group puts on - one which mixes time travel, comedy and the great Bard's story as well.

But G also faces the rigours of prison life - parole board hearings for his release, tensions with the other men etc. However, Kwedar gives over large portions of the film to scenes of the gang rehearsing, a loose and tangible dynamic between the troupe showcased.

As a result, the film feels alive in a different way, one that's more an appreciation of the arts and the lives involved. But it's nothing really without Domingo's performance, one which showcases so much with so little. Fundamentally he's a decent person, riddled with his own worries (his fear when he's about to be replaced by another shows much of the character's vulnerability) - but Domingo demonstrates that he is really one of Hollywood's power players, one who deserves a greater spotlight to shine.

Peppered with backstage shots showing nerves and tensions before a show is another familiar scene, but in Kwedar's hands, it becomes something that feels more alive and crackling with more energy than cliche.

Sing Sing is the kind of film that rewards your heart, while thanks to its real-life acting troupe showing that humanity will always thrive in the darkest of places.