Rehabilitation in the prison system is much more than the news would have you believe. Featuring Colman Domingo and Academy Award nominee for Best Supporting Actor Paul Raci alongside many real-life formerly incarcerated men, director Greg Kwedar sets out to tell the story of the Rehabilitation Through the Arts program at Sing Sing in Sing Sing.

For its part in the film’s settings, Sing Sing is a maximum-security prison 30 miles north of Manhattan. Kwedar‘s Sing Sing is as much a play on the prison’s name as it is on the activities undertaken by the Rehabilitation Through the Arts program.

Colman Domingo plays John “Divine G” Whitfield, a man so inspired by the expressional freedom that the program offers, and taps into his real-world skills, that it is hard to imagine the real individual as being so hardened that his skills could be harnessed for anything other than as a prolific stage performer.

Director Kwedar and co-screenwriter Clint Bentley set out to tell what a familiar story of survival in the prison system would be. Sing Sing is much more than that; quite a bit of the story is infused into the characters and story, and the emotion that its success boils down to the performances and nuances Kwedar drives as inspiration from their lives, a tight hand on the direction.

The previous performance run has ended, and a new play is set to start when Domingo as Whitfield sets out to find fresh performers and ultimately decide on a play to do for the upcoming production. Whitfield encourages the services of Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin playing his real-life persona, the most fearsome incarcerated person in the system. Domingo’s Whitfield has a vision for a new play, however, “Divine Eye” has a different vision – leading a comedy.

Sing Sing is as much about the brotherhood that eventually forms in support of the production, as it is about the interpersonal relationships between Whitfield and “Divine Eye”, who is at first resistant to the program’s attributes. That is until Paul Raci’s (Sound of Metal) Brent Buell, steps in, charged with being the men’s leader: their inspiration, their mentor, and their guide. And much like his performance in The Sound of Metal, Raci here is no less powerful. Just a few words from him can pull out the motivation to speak the men’s piece and peace. Buell’s Breakin’ the Mummy’s Code serves as the inspiration for John H. Richardson’s The Sing Sing Follies on which Bentley, Kwedar, Clarence Maclin, and, Whitfield based their story

Domingo is a light, a breath of fresh air in an otherwise difficult environment. As Whitfield, he is the film’s emotional center. The actor carries a powerful internalized stick but doesn’t always express it externally. The dramatic work he’s done within the program before and during the current production slowly unwinds as “Divine Eye” presses for Shakespeare instead of a comedy, which Whitfield says he’s not very good at writing. The constant struggle for power between the two men makes for exceptional entertainment. Domingo’s Whitfield has a natural charisma to draw in those who are less well adjusted to their surroundings like Sean San Jose’s Mike Mike. The scenes played out between Domingo and San Jose are some of the most powerful as Whitfield and “Divine Eye” get to know each other. Sing Sing comes alive when the men truly draw on their inspiration for their respective parts within the performances and the system, the film hits its brilliant stride.

Sing Sing is one of the top films of 2024, anchored by tight direction from Greg Kwedar, and exceptional cinematography by Pat Scola. Strong performances from Domingo, Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin, Sean San Jose, and Jon-Adrian Velazquez drive the human factor home.