Review: Sing Sing
Trust The Process
INTRODUCTION
This is a quick review of the newly released film Sing Sing. Keep in mind this is but one of the many movies I watch every year, and that whatever initial grade I come up for this film could change for better or worse with time. To better keep up to date with both my thoughts on other movies and if my feelings on this film changed, follow me on Letterboxd.
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THE PLOT
Via Letterboxd: Divine G, imprisoned at Sing Sing for a crime he didn’t commit, finds purpose by acting in a theatre group with other incarcerated men.
QUICK REVIEW
Back in the Fall of 2023 I was going through a very rough period of my life. One of the things that gave me a light at the end of the tunnel was, of course, film. And the big story in film back then was, of course, the Toronto International Film Festival. Among some of the surprises from the festival was Sing Sing, a movie that came out of nowhere to win over audiences. A24 picked the movie up for distribution and slated it as a summer 2024 release. In the time between, it also played at the earlier festivals for this year, and quickly became an audience hit everywhere it screened.
Now here we are nearing the Fall of 2024. I’m in a better spot, for the most part, and I finally was blessed with Sing Sing coming to my local marketplace this past weekend. 2024, in my personal estimation, has been a rough year for movies. With the exception of two films, all my A-tier movies for the year so far have been big, loud, blockbuster IP sequels. I just haven’t been wowed much by the original slate this year, so far. But I knew that once my eyeballs got to see Sing Sing, I might finally see some pushback on that trend. I’m happy to report that indeed finally happened.
Like Nomadland before it, Sing Sing takes the bold decision to tell the story of a real-life community through the use of a narrative. Colman Domingo and Paul Racci are the only professional actors in the ensemble of men, the rest are all pretty much former convicts that took part in the arts program that the film highlights. And like Nomadland, these outsiders prove themselves as actors able to blend into the narrative in a way that might surprise some viewers when the credits hit an all is revealed. The highlight of these players is Clarence Maclin as himsel. He proves to be one of the heartbeats of the film, leaving an impression that has lead to oscar buzz for him; oscar buzz I find to be legitimate.
Domingo and Racci shine on their own of course. Racci’s ability to come off as real as it gets lends itself here as good as it did in his oscar nominated performance in Sound Of Metal. Domingo, for his part, delivers what may be the best lead male performance of the year. Coming off his role in Rustin last year, of which made my own personal ballot and was nominated for an Oscar, he has followed it up with a performance that will leave some caught off guard when the ending of his character’s arc in the film causes tears to well up.
The movie takes you through the months-long process of coming up with a play, auditioning for roles, rehearsals, and the play itself. It’s a fascinating process to watch unfold. A process the film keeps telling us these prisoners have to trust, to be able to have some kind of hope while behind bars. But the movie gives us more, when the men eventually start to open up and be vulnerable in ways that help us understand them, and not have us judging them for how they go behind bars to begin with.
As delightful as this movie is, like Nomadland, it does suffer from a few moments that could come off like a lull. The final act feels like it could have been trimmed down a bit to get to the heart of the matter. It also feels like there’s a little less fewer moments of levity than I think the movie could have been helped by. But these are all small personal nitpicks over a great movie.
I find myself a bit confused as to how to grade this one. Its easily an A-tier film for me, but I was expecting to come out of it thinking it could join Dune: Part Two as the only A+ films, for me, for the year. But I came away not knowing if I wanted to go that far. Compared to the other A-tier grades I’ve given out this year, I still could see myself giving the edge to Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire or Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga in terms of which I personally find more re-watchable. Because of this I feel like I’m going to need to chew on just how high up the ranking of this year’s top films I’d be willing to place this one. A rewatch and watching how it digests with me in the months to come, could be key in where I ultimately rank it in my year-end list.
Sing Sing is undoubtedly a great film. It’s captured the hearts of audiences for a reason and will show up in my personal awards ballot in various categories. I still need to chew on just how much I loved it, but I did love it to a great extent. It’s undoubtedly one of the best films of 2024 for me, and likely one of its most objectively impactful for the history of the medium. I give Sing Sing, for now, a strong A-.
INITIAL GRADING
