“Sing Sing” opened in limited release on July 12 after making the rounds on the film festival circuit, starting last fall at the Toronto International Film Festival. One of the year’s early Oscar contenders for Best Picture, it tells the story of a prison arts program that rehabilitates inmates at the titular prison. It remains to be seen how this story will resonate with awards voters, but we already know what critics have to say.
On Rotten Tomatoes, which classifies reviews simply as positive or negative, the film is rated 97% fresh based on 64 reviews. The RT critics consensus says, “A moving celebration of art’s redemptive power, ‘Sing Sing’ draws its estimable emotional resonance from a never better Colman Domingo and equally impressive ensemble players.” And the movie merits a score of 81 on MetaCritic based on 20 reviews.
The film is distributed by A24, the company behind Best Picture Oscar winners “Moonlight” and “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” And its mix of professional actors with real people portraying events they’ve experienced is reminiscent of another recent Best Picture winner, “Nomadland.” The film will expand to more theaters August 2.
Domingo has been a focal point of critics’ reviews. Peter Travers (ABC News) calls the actor “simply stupendous.” He “seizes the role of his career in ‘Sing Sing’ and rides it to glory.” Trace Sauveur (Paste) calls him “an actor whose raw sense of emotional transparency continues to radiate.” The film benefits from him “masterfully anchoring the ensemble,” according to Whelan Barzey (Time Out).
But Domingo isn’t the film’s only highlight. Matt Zoller Seitz (RogerEbert.com) praises writer-director Greg Kwedar and his co-writer Clint Bentley, who “kept the movie loose and airy (but never slow) and allowed scenes to play out in a way that feels real.” Seitz calls the movie “rare and precious” and compares it to the works of Mike Leigh and Ken Loach. Alan Ng (Film Threat) calls “Sing Sing” “an inspiring and hopeful story. That’s really all the reason you need to see this movie.”
Supporting actor Clarence Maclin, a former inmate playing a version of himself, “has a nervy kind of electricity,” says Stephanie Zacharek (Time). “He brings superb depth and naturalism to his role,” adds Caryn James (BBC). Radheyan Simonpillai (Guardian) explains, “Kwedar isn’t making ‘Shawshank’ to satisfy the demands of an audience. Instead, he’s inviting that audience to be part of something that demands patience and transcends the usual extractive relationship films have with their subjects.”
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