Chicago Critics Film Festival Movie Review: Sing Sing

Greg Kwedar’s Sing Sing is a sensational movie. A beautiful, moving experience about rehabilitation, hope, brotherhood, and the importance of the arts. The film stars Colman Domingo as John ‘Divine G’ Whitfield, a wrongfully accused man serving time at Sing Sing prison in New York. During his time in prison, Divine G, a well-read and articulate writer, has formed an in-prison theater group where other inmates come together to write, act, and produce a play. The film follows their journey through their latest creation, a time-traveling story that features Egyptians, pirates, King Lear, and Freddy Krueger.

The scenes where we see the play being created are joyous to watch. Seeing these inmates, the majority of whom are former or current inmates playing themselves, do acting exercises, and read-throughs, try on costumes, and come together as a group to create something is heart-warming and inspiring with plenty of moments of humor and love. But Kwedar doesn’t shy away from the fact that these men are in prison and shows the harshness of their reality. In between the scenes of creativity and passion, we see cell raids, inmates talking about the crimes they committed, what they miss about being outside, what they regret, and upcoming parole and clemency hearings. Sing Sing perfectly balances showing the best moments and juxtaposing them with the darker, sad moments, making the film a rounded emotional experience.

As mentioned in the last paragraph, many of the inmates in the film are played by former or current inmates who have taken part in this theater prison program, now known as Rehabilitation Through the Arts or RTA. All the actors are great and show their personalities and skills as an actor. But I was most impressed by Clarence Maclin, a former inmate who is playing a version of himself in the film. Maclin is the new guy in the theater group for this play and goes through a journey where he must learn to be vulnerable and open up emotionally in a place where he has always had to act tough. Maclin is a revelation. This is an explosive, brilliant performance full of depth. As soon as Maclin came on screen, his charisma and personality shined as bright as the sun. This is Maclin’s first film-ever performance and his only acting experience was doing these plays in prison. But he gives one of the best performances of 2024 and one of the great acting debuts of the decade.

At the center of the film is Domingo, who gives a career-best performance as Divine G. Domingo masterfully balances the emotions of a man who is desperately trying to prove himself innocent and leave Sing Sing while also knowing how important he is to the theater group and the other inmates that he helps. Domingo is charming, heartfelt, and commanding in an extraordinary performance that is the heart and soul of one of the very best movies of 2024.

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