Sing Sing (15)

A group of incarcerated men rehearse the original musical revue Breakin' The Mummy's Code as part of the Rehabilitation Through The Arts (RTA) programme, which operates at Sing Sing Maximum Security Prison. Among the throng are John "Divine G" Whitfield, imprisoned for a crime he did not commit, Clarence Maclin, Sean "Dino" Johnson and Mosi Eagle. Playwright and theatre director Brent Buell is an RTA volunteer, dedicated to helping the men better themselves.

LondonNet Film Review

Sing Sing (15) Film Review from LondonNet

Art professes to imitate life but uncomfortable truths are often obscured beneath a thick veneer of creative licence. The pain and tears feel real in director Greg Kwedar’s quietly powerful drama. Inspired by a magazine article, Sing Sing casts professional actors Colman Domingo, Paul Raci and Sean San Jose alongside former real-life prison inmates to champion the transformative power of the Rehabilitation Through The Arts programme (RTA), which has operated since 1996 at the titular maximum-security correctional facility for men. Kwedar’s script, co-written by Clint Bentley, reenacts the making of the RTA’s 2005 production Breakin’ The Mummy’s Code, a madcap musical revue that melds Peter Pan’s Captain Hook, rampaging gladiators, ancient Egypt, Freddy Krueger from Nightmare On Elm Street and a soliloquy from Hamlet…

The production was hastily conceived by RTA volunteer Brent Buell (“147 pages in one weekend?!” jokes one inmate in Kwedar’s film) and roaming handheld cameras create the illusion of a fly-on-the-wall documentary behind bars. Domingo’s powerhouse central performance as a novelist and playwright convicted of a crime he did not commit is wondrous and we feel his character’s anguish when life deals a cruel, dizzying blow. Gentle comedy serves time alongside the soul-searching and Domingo catalyses molten screen chemistry with co-star Clarence Maclin, who starred in the original version of Breakin’ The Mummy’s Code.

John “Divine G” Whitfield (Domingo) is a beacon of optimism for other inmates in Block B at Sing Sing. He diligently prepares evidence of his innocence for an upcoming clemency hearing while completing the fifth draft of a long-gestated stage work. His best friend behind bars, Mike Mike (San Jose), inhabits the neighbouring cell and the two men tease each other about the past like when G reminisces about studying at New York High School of Performing Arts, immortalised in the 1980 film Fame. “The Irene Cara thing?” smiles Mike Mike. “G, you was Leroy!”

G and Mike Mike are long-standing members of the RTA and they persuade other members of the troupe to allow drug dealer Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin (playing himself) to audition for a zany comedy about “an Egyptian prince who travels through time to find his mummy”. Divine Eye is initially resistant to lowering his emotional guard in front of visiting theatre director Brent Buell (Raci) since survival in the yard requires him to project an image of bullying, brutish masculinity. Through the RTA, he nurtures strong fraternal bonds and slowly repairs his crumbling self-worth.

Sing Sing is a rousing celebration of the dauntless human spirit, shot on grainy 16mm film in 19 days in decommissioned correctional facilities. Brotherhood and compassion flourish in the darkest places of Kwedar’s unassuming but crowd-pleasing film, galvanised by naturalistic performances from the uniformly excellent ensemble. Art defiantly celebrates life.

– Sarah Lee