SXSW Movie Review: Sing Sing
Many movie-lovers flock to Austin, TX to take part in the electric, high-energy vibes of SXSW’s tantalizing World Premiere screenings. The highly coveted Opening Night selection at this year’s festival belonged to Doug Liman’s 80s-remake, Road House. As expected, the glitz and glamor of celebrity talent like Jake Gyllenhaal and former UFC Champion-turned-actor, Connor McGregor, lured the crowd to Austin’s beloved movie venue, the Paramount Theater.
Yet, while the masses gathered in downtown Austin, I went against the grain and ventured down south to catch the U.S. premiere of Greg Kwedar’s touching real-life drama, Sing Sing. After generating a healthy amount of buzz following its World Premiere in Toronto this past September, one that saw A24 acquiring the theatrical rights to the film, Sing Sing instantly became a must-see title at this year’s SXSW festival. In attendance was leading star, Colman Domingo, a brilliant performer whose got BIG plans this Sunday as a Best Actor nominee at the Oscars for his role in the Netflix release, Rustin. However, Domingo said it best while referencing his awards season role as Civil Rights crusader, Bayard Rustin, “I do movies like that, so I can do movies like this”. A true testament to the power of independent filmmaking.
Sing Sing follows John “Divine G” Whitfield (Domingo), an inmate at the Sing Sing maximum-security prison in New York. Trapped behind metal bars and concrete walls, Divine G leads a theatre troupe that stages productions at the prison. After another successful show, the troupe decides to take on some new members and welcomes the self-proclaimed street hustler and gangster, Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin (as himself), into the group. Divine Eye’s acclimation to the theatrical process isn’t all that smooth, but the troupe’s latest production, an original comedy, will only work if everyone is fully committed to the project.
Co-writer and director, Greg Kwedar, toes the line of documentary by bringing in some of the former real-life inmates to play themselves in the film. This extra level of authenticity makes for a truly unique and genuine story, and one that Colman Domingo helps elevate to a whole other level. As the guiding light for this group of incarcerated actors, Divine G understands that you must be open and vulnerable to your feelings in order to command the stage, something he’s mastered himself. Yet, harnessing those emotions and breaking through the rough exterior of Divine Eye proves to be quite the challenge. But it’s in these obstacles where Sing Sing shines brightest. The camaraderie of these men and the slow evolution of Divine G embracing this brotherhood and learning how to channel his emotions into the power of performance and storytelling is truly a sight to witness.
This film is built on the firm foundation of its ensemble. Colman Domingo and Paul Raci (Sound of Metal) join a raw collection of artists who make Sing Sing so memorable because they lived this life. They smashed through these emotional barriers to better understand themselves and to better understand each other. And through this journey, they learned how to escape the everyday violence and atrocities of life in a maximum-security prison by teleporting themselves to new worlds through the stories they told.
There are laughs, tears, joy, and sorrow. To witness Sing Sing is to witness the beauty and artistry of life. Despite some moments of sluggish pacing and other limitations from being an indie film in every sense of the word (I mean, the movie was shot in merely 18 days), Greg Kwedar delivers a story worth telling. Sing Sing is a film about expression, self-discovery, and the beauty of second chances. While it may not come with the same fanfare or budget of other SXSW entries, there’s enormous heart and soul here that everyone deserves to witness for themselves.
GRADE: 4/5
