“Sing Sing” just had its second wide theatrical release Jan. 17 after receiving critical acclaim during its first theatrical release on July 12, 2024. It has also become the first film to release simultaneously in theaters and prisons. This release was made possible with the support of A24, Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA) — the non-profit organization that the film is based on — and Edovo, a non-profit that puts together educational programs for over 1,100 correctional facilities in the U.S.
The film is based on real life events and follows Divine G (Colman Domingo), an inmate at Sing Sing Correctional Facility who was convicted of a crime he didn’t commit but finds purpose by acting in RTA’s productions. A wary new member of the theatre group, Divine Eye (Clarence Maclin), suggests that they perform a comedy, which leads the director, Brent Buell (Paul Raci), to write “Breakin' the Mummy's Code.” As they come together to put on the play, Divine Eye must let his guard down and learn the power of vulnerability to perform his role as this play’s version of Hamlet.
In real life, John “Divine G” Whitfield was an actual founding member of RTA who was incarcerated for a homicide he didn’t commit. However, he never let Sing Sing turn him bitter. Instead, he wrote novels and screenplays, acted and earned a bachelor's degree in behavioral science and a master’s degree in theology.
The director of “Sing Sing,” Greg Kwedar, didn’t know much about incarcerated people, but after reading a 2005 Esquire article about the RTA program, he reached out to Brent Buell, the real-life RTA coach who wrote and directed “Breakin’ the Mummy’s Code,” to hear more about the program. Kwedar met up with Buell, Whitfield, Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin, another member of the RTA program who plays himself in the movie, and other people previously incarcerated at Sing Sing to talk about their experiences. This encouraged Kwedar to make “Sing Sing” to hold a mirror up to the profound effects of RTA.
The movie had a budget of only $2 million, was shot in 19 days on 16mm film, and besides three professional actors (Colman Domingo, Sean San José and Paul Raci), everyone in the cast was previously incarcerated people who were a part of the RTA program, playing themselves. Additionally, everyone in the cast, including Domingo, were paid the same daily and weekly rate. This displays the heart and authenticity of the film, made of real people telling their stories.
The cinematography is stunning, and the imperfections of it being shot on film make the movie feel all the more real and raw. The acting was also phenomenal. Colman Domingo shined in every scene he was in, and the other actors in the cast also delivered strong and emotional performances that brought the story to life.
“Sing Sing” exemplifies the power of vulnerability by showing how people are able to heal and become stronger by letting their walls down and being vulnerable with each other. This is something that everyone can connect with and hopefully learn from by watching the beautiful openness shown throughout the film.
The film also brings to light some of the injustices in the American judicial system, as exemplified through Divine G’s storyline of being wrongly convicted of homicide. The audience follows along with his long journey of trying to get out of prison and we see how, even with concrete evidence proving his innocence, people don’t believe him.
Divine G’s story is something that happens much too often, with over 3,175 exonerations occurring in the U.S. since 1989. It has been found that innocent Black people are seven times more likely to be wrongly convicted of murder than innocent white people. This film does a good job of showing just one example of this happening and will hopefully bring awareness to the injustice.
Finally, “Sing Sing” displays the amazing impact of RTA. You are able to see how it allows people to feel human in a place that is so inhumane and find themselves through the creativity the program inspires. This message is even more effective thanks to the fact that the actors are really just playing themselves and sharing their own experiences of how this program transformed their lives as it shows the manifestation of the program’s goals.
While the film’s plot is simplistic, it has so much heart. You can tell that everyone who worked on this film poured their heart and soul into it, and the product reflects this passion.
