11/33
These are actual audition tapes used to cast the film
Line of Events
Divine G, imprisoned in Sing Sing for a crime he didn’t commit, finds purpose in performing in a theater group alongside other incarcerated men in this story of resilience, humanity, and the transformative power of art. As the film opens, the cast is auditioning for various roles in the play. The group has been criticized for not doing comedy, but their previous play was A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which is a comedy.
Blades composed by Bryce Dessner
Performed on Late Night with Seth Meyers: Anna Faris/Colman Domingo/Jose Medeles (2024). When everything is stripped away from one’s life, it can be nearly impossible to find anything that provides a reason to continue. Such is the case for the incarcerated, individuals facing an uncertain future of indeterminate duration.
And under such difficult conditions, realistically speaking, one can’t help but wonder if rehabilitation will ever become a viable option
But for some, there is hope in a seemingly unlikely source — the arts, as chronicled in this fact-based drama about participants in the inmate theater program at New York City’s Sing Sing maximum security prison. Featuring a cast that includes professional actors and current and former members of this talented inmate troupe, viewers witness the ups and downs of these men as they struggle to bring meaning—and hope—to their time behind bars. Director Greg Kwedar’s sophomore feature offers an up-close look at the lives of these aspiring actors, both in terms of their onstage activities and their day-to-day lives in conditions most of us probably can’t even begin to imagine.
In doing so, this offering also takes audiences on a rollercoaster of emotions, from uplifting joys to heartfelt heartbreaks, revealing the tremendous strength of character that drives these individuals
While the film’s narrative is admittedly a bit thin and meandering at times, this is more than made up for by the film’s superb performances, led by Colman Domingo, Clarence Maclin, Paul Raci, and Sean San Jose, who, like virtually everyone else in this fine ensemble, bring unparalleled depth to their characters and interpersonal relationships, easily among the best work in these fields I’ve seen in some time. This is particularly poignant knowing that many of those featured in this production can relate to their circumstances from personal experience, thus infusing this release with a level of unvarnished authenticity rarely seen on the big screen. For its efforts, “Sing Sing” has a good chance of being a 2024 awards season contender, especially in the acting categories, showing us what is possible when we allow our passions to come to the forefront on their own, especially when we have nothing to lose by doing so, a genuine source of inspiration from those we would least expect.
