For a based-on-fact drama about incarcerated men finding hope via a prison theater group, Sing Sing presses gently on the inspirational pedal. This is due partly to the behind-the-scenes talent—screenwriter Clint Bentley has fashioned a tender, mostly restrained screenplay, while writer-director Greg Kwedar establishes a crucially authentic sense of place—but largely due to the cast. Colman Domingo stars as John “Divine G” Whitfield, a founding member of the Rehabilitation Through the Arts program at Sing Sing Correctional Facility. Surrounding him, as various players in the troupe, are mostly non-professional actors whose real-life stories mirror that of their characters. This is especially the case for Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin, whose involvement in bringing his own narrative into the production resulted in a story credit. A gripping presence as a vicious “yard bandit” who somewhat reluctantly joins the group, Maclin displays something astonishing for a novice: the ability to trace a complicated arc for his “character.” As the onscreen Divine Eye he’s immediately intimidating—in a confrontation with Domingo’s Divine G, he holds his stare a few seconds longer than your usual movie moment, turning it into an unnervingly real one. From there, he gradually embodies the path of a man who discovers how vulnerability will make him whole. (Watching Divine Eye finally nail the Hamlet monologue he’s been assigned, after much struggle, was the movie’s most inspirational moment for me.) By deflating any burgeoning balloons of Hollywood grandiosity that attempt to sneak into the proceedings, Maclin and the other non-professionals keep that pedal from being pushed too hard.
(7/30/2024)
