Miss The Green Mile? This Overlooked A24 Prison Drama with 98% on RT Is Almost as Brilliant

It goes without saying that prison movies leave a feeling of hopelessness. The сharacters either hatch an escape plan or test themselves in the harsh disciplinary system. Greg Kwedar's Sing Sing, an indie drama that was acclaimed at the Toronto Film Festival and released by A24 a year ago but went largely unnoticed by audiences, takes a fresh approach to an old topic.

Greg Kwedar has made a movie about people who escape from walls and bars, not physically but mentally, and dive into the world of creativity. Moreover, the story of the prisoners' theatrical fervor is not made up, but based on a real rehabilitation program.

The actors in Sing Sing, with the exception of Colman Domingo and Paul Raci, have served time in institutions. You probably wouldn't call them unprofessional – by participating in productions of Shakespeare and other plays, they created a good platform for future film careers.

What Is Sing Sing About?

John "Divine G" Whitfield is serving time in New York's Sing Sing Prison. He joins the rehabilitation program, where inmates form a theater troupe. Theater is the only way for prisoners to break out of their routines, adjust their behavior, and perhaps discover positive qualities they didn't know they had.

The participants begin to put together a production that includes pirates, mummies, Robin Hood, Freddy Krueger, and Hamlet – the latter role given to Clarence Maclin (a real-life criminal playing himself), the most recalcitrant prisoner. He, like all the new actors, must discover the saving power of art.

Sing Sing Is a Heartwarming Drama about the Power of Art

The most important thing Sing Sing has is soul and heart. A big part of the movie's success is its reliance on real experiences. Clarence Maclin is a surprising discovery, an actor and ex-convict who remembered an earlier version of himself but at the same time gave depth to his character, a sinister prison alpha.

Sing Sing localizes its artistic tasks and does not raise a series of problematic questions about the penal system. The movie's mission is to heal, with the help of art and imagination.

With this thought, Kwedar's film moves toward a healing climax, revealing the small tragedies of broken people with a light and almost naive optimism, an assertion that life always goes on, especially when it is multiplied by fantasy and images. Sing Sing charms with its down-to-earth wisdom, trying to do without big speeches and pathos.