The Wheels of Justice Often Grind Slowly
Reviews and Comments by Ken Burke
I invite you to join me on a regular basis to see how my responses to current cinematic offerings compare to the critical establishment, which I’ll refer to as either the CCAL (Collective Critics at Large) if they’re supportive or the OCCU (Often Cranky Critics Universe) when they go negative. However, due to COVID concerns I’m mostly addressing streaming options with limited visits to theaters, where I don’t think I’ve missed much anyway, but better options are on the horizon. (Note: Anything in bold blue below [some may look near purple] is a link to something more in the review.)
My reviews’ premise: “You can’t please everyone, so you got to please yourself.”
(from "Garden Party" by Rick Nelson and the Stone Canyon Band, 1972 album of the song’s name)
Sing Sing (Greg Kwedar, 2024) rated R 107 min.
Here’s the trailer:
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As with my last review, of I’m Still Here (Walter Salles, 2024), this time I won’t be providing any Spoiler Alerts because this film’s also a docudrama, based on the real-life, previously-reported situations of being incarcerated at upper New York state’s Sing Sing prison, with the focus on John Whitfield (played by Colman Domingo, Oscar-nominated as Best Actor for Rustin [George C. Wolfe, 2023] and this same award this year for Sing Sing) as explored in the writings “The Sing Sing Follies” (a story by John H. Richardson in his book of this name [subtitled A Maximum-Security Comedy: And Other True Stories], 2024) and Breakin’ the Mummy’s Code (Brent Buell, play originally done by Sing Sing inmates which had a short Off-Broadway run in 2005, then a 1-night NYC revival on February 3, 2025 with many of the former inmates once again in the cast [this play’s what’s described briefly below as the inmates' concept]). Whitfield, known here as “Divine G,” has been locked up for years despite protesting his innocence, is preparing for another parole hearing, this time with new evidence which he hopes will exonerate him. In the meantime, though, he gives his energies to theatrical productions in the prison under the Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA) program with the inmates acting under the guidance of a non-jailed director, Brent Buell (Paul Raci).
As this story begins the group agrees to take on new member Clarence Maclin, later known as “Divine Eye” (playing himself), a surly guy who surprisingly suggests the next production be a comedy to lighten up the prison population. His idea’s accepted with Buell writing a script based on silly scenes by the cast members except for the Hamlet (William Shakespeare, c. 1599-1601) “To be or not to be” soliloquy, which, again surprisingly, finds Eye auditioning for the role given it’s the only serious part of the show—accepted by the others over G, a superior actor—even as he struggles with it (as explored in Notes on a Scene [10:25] by Kwedar and Domingo) until he finds the necessary fire for delivery. Initial tensions between G and Eye improve, but G’s devastated when his friend, Mike Mike (Sean San José), suddenly dies of a brain aneurysm. Things get worse at G’s clemency hearing when his evidence is rejected, he's accused of acting about his sincere desire for freedom (ironically, he’s helped Eye prepare for his own hearing, with upcoming parole granted). G temporarily quits the play but is encouraged back by Eye, the production a big success. Years later, G’s finally paroled, finds Eye waiting for him; prior to final credits we get older footage of actual RTA stagings, featuring former inmates who’ve played themselves in this film, including Maclin (of the characters we see on screen the only notable ones with real actors are G, Mike Mike, and Buell; the others are all formerly-incarcerated men who acted in the RTA program). Further authenticity comes from shooting in decommissioned prisons, with the RTA plays done in nearby Beacon High School.
Although (after internal struggle) I can’t quite include Sing Sing among my 2024 Top 10 (see our 3/12/2025 posting for my revised version of that list, with a even-more-recent change of #8 from The Last Stop in Yuma County [Francis Gallluppi] to I’m Still Here) because there’s just not one of them I can eliminate even for something as solid as Sing Sing, although Domingo and Maclin are certainly in my 2024 Top 5 for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor; the CCAL agrees with the quality here as Rotten Tomatoes positive reviews are at 97%, the Metacritic average score is 83%; however, I do heartedly-encourage you to see it, even though your only opportunity now is with streaming, where it’s on Max ($9.99 monthly if you’re not already a subscriber; theatrically it opened domestically [U.S.-Canada] on July 12, 2024, taking in a mere $3.1 million, $5.3 million worldwide).
I’ll leave you with my usual trope of a Musical Metaphor, this time, though, 2 of them, first “Like a Bird” (Abraham Alexander, Adrian Quesada) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAE8o7Gal Kg, Oscar nominee, Best Original Song, used under the final credits with shots from the film in this video (“Heaven and evil, caught in the middle / Someone set me free, be wind beneath my wings”), followed by Bob Dylan’s "I Shall Be Released" from The Last Waltz (Martin Scorsese, 1978), a doc of The Band’s final concert from November 25, 1976 with a huge group of guests including Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Ronnie Wood, Ringo Starr, Neil Diamond (“They say every man needs protection / They say every man must fall / Yet I swear I see my reflection / Some place so high above this wall / I see my light come shining / From the west unto the east / Any day now, any day now / I shall be released”). That’s all until next week; recently I said I’m ready to leave 2024 behind in favor of current releases, but I’ve yet seen anything in 2025 streaming that’s even close to these 2024 powerhouses I’ve just written about so who knows what I’ll end up with for next week.*
*As a literal follow-up to Sing Sing, director Kwedar and his Oscar-nominated co-screenwriter (Best Adapted Screenplay) Clint Bentley (plus Maclin and Whitfield for Oscar's nom) on February 24, 2025 went to the San Francisco area’s grim San Quentin prison to hold a workshop for those inmates on filmmaking. You can read about it here, where you must scroll right instead of down to see all of it.
SHORT TAKES
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