'Sing Sing' Capsule Review

Never judge a movie by its title. Sing Sing is not a musical. What it is is a story about how art can give someone meaning in their life, even when it has been all taken away. By blending real former inmates with actors, there's an earnest beauty in this film that doesn't come across as phony Hollywood sentimentality. Director Greg Kwedar makes a film about prison that isn't about killing or drug dealing. It's about men finding purpose in their existence through performative art. The movie can sometimes feel like a drag. But it's slow cinema at its best.

A majority of Sing Sign takes place in the Rehabilitation Through Arts (RTA) program. It's a real program that I wasn't aware existed. The film could run the risk of feeling like an advertisement for the RTA program, but it doesn't. Our film's protagonist, John 'Divine G' Whitfield (Colman Domingo), is a man incarcerated for a crime he swears he didn't commit. Apparently, there's a videotape that proves he didn't kill the person he's accused of executing. He's a lot like Andy Dufresne from The Shawshank Redemption. John is an immensely talented man. His taste for theater is like Andy's love for literature and opera. Both men share their passion for an art form prisoners often overlook. Also, both men are innocent. 

Sing Sing is also a lot like The Shawshank Redemption by adapting the beauty one can find in prison. By discovering theater, men you would never expect to sight Shakespear does so with an emotion in their heart that projects volumes. As corny and cliche as it sounds, there's a lot of love put into this film. It's a movie that isn't about the standard cliches of prisoners wanting to break free from their cages. Yes, that's certainly still there. Nobody wants to be in prison unless they're Brooks Hatlen. But the movie really focuses on men developing their craft as actors and how they use the emotions they feel from being locked up on the front stage for all to see. 

Sing Sing is unflinchingly emotional. It doesn't have any scenes of violence or rape. Just therapy, where men have to be sensitive in a setting that renounces outward emotion. In prison, to get with your touchy-feely side is considered weak. Homophobia runs rampant in prison. To show your feelings is something that makes you inferior as a man. You have to bottle up your emotions in lockup, or you'll be hurt. 

Does the theater fix everything? No. At a certain point, Divine G reaches a breaking point, renouncing the program he was so active in. What art does fix is a hole left in our hearts. Sing Sing has the heart and complexity to make for an incredibly moving experience in the cinema. 

Sing Sing was shown as part of The Chicago Critics Film Festival. It will open nationwide in July.