close
close

Haunting prison drama makes the heart sing

Colman Domingo leads the cast of the based on factual story.

Adam Graham
| Detroit News Film Critic

William Shakespeare's “To be or not to be” soliloquy from Hamlet is one of the most performed, modified and even parodied speeches in human history. But in Sing Sing, performed by Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin, it is given new life.

Maclin plays himself, an inmate at New York's Sing Sing Correctional Facility who is participating in the maximum security prison's Rehabilitation Through the Arts program, which allows inmates to perform plays for their fellow inmates. On the surface, Divine Eye doesn't have much in common with the Prince of Denmark. But through the power of Shakespeare's words, he finds a connection that helps him uncover something hidden deep inside.

“Sing Sing” is about channeling the human spirit in the darkest of places, and it’s a powerful, uplifting drama. It’s driven by two great performances, both from Maclin and star Colman Domingo, who may receive his second consecutive Best Actor Oscar nomination for his role as John “Divine G” Whitfield, a Sing Sing inmate convicted of a crime he didn’t commit and one of the founders of the prison’s in-house theater program.

Divine G is preparing to stage a new production with RTA supervisor Brent Buell (Sound of Metal Oscar nominee Paul Raci in a pitch-perfect performance) when Divine Eye auditions for the program. He's gruff, challenging and raw – and on top of that, he's taking G's place as Hamlet in a wacky time-travel comedy featuring everything from Egyptian princes to Back to the Future to Nightmare on Elm Street's Freddy Krueger – but G eventually takes a liking to him when Divine Eye opens herself to the power of art.

Sing Sing expresses this power, showing how escaping to the theater illuminates the inner workings of the prisoners. The production they put on is silly and borders on nonsense, but it gives them something to believe in, a reason to go beyond the routine of their daily survival.

Greg Kwedar, who co-wrote the factual screenplay with Clint Bentley, directs with an eye for observation, letting viewers stand back and watch from afar before bringing his actors into focus. The faces of the men – the participants are mostly former RTA members playing themselves – tell their stories as they throw themselves into something that will give them a life outside the prison walls.

Domingo, whose career has been on a roll since Euphoria, is great, exuding strength and optimism until everything around him becomes too much. “Sometimes it's all a little too much for the heart,” he says. And Maclin has a unique screen presence, is completely authentic and has a determination that cannot be artificially acquired. It would not be surprising if he too receives an invitation to the Oscars.

Sing Sing works on several levels and is a triumph of will, determination and humanity. At times it's all a bit too much for the heart to handle, but it's an excellent reminder of the redemptive function of art and the saving grace of performance.

[email protected]

'Sing-Sing'

Grade: A-

Age rating R: due to continuous language

Running time: 107 minutes

At the State Theatre in Ann Arbor

You may also like...