Sing Sing
“We say Beloved instead…”
Sing Sing is going to be a movie that I think about for a very long time. Not only that, but I believe that this will be a movie that is talked about for years to come, at least it should be. As the credits rolled and you start to see "as himself" repeatedly, it only adds to the emotional weight of the movie. As if it was not already a heavy film to begin with.
Sing Sing is based on a real theater program at Sing Sing called Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA), where a group of men behind bars put on different plays about every 6 months or so. This film is heartbreaking yet at the same time is hopefully, charming and at times very funny. This movie feels so real. Which I know is something that is said many times with films like this one, but I am not sure there are many films as real as this one. Its raw emotion and vulnerable honesty make this a truly special work of art.
Full of emotional depth yes, but we should not gloss over the acting performances, beautiful cinematography and it's brilliant screenplay. Coleman Domingo is transcendent in this movie. He is giving a performance that is going to be one that I remember for a very long time. His performance is both quiet and intimate as well as intense and full of raw emotion. You get a full range here, and I do think it is the best performance of the year and I am not sure anyone will top it. Clarence "Divine Eye" Maclin manages to rival Coleman playing himself. His performance was visceral, the heartache, and hope was palpable through the screen. Him having the ability to relive this real experience, and become his former self is truly remarkable. This movie looks beautiful. Potentially the best shot film of the year, but I go back and forth between this and couple movies. The shots that Greg Kwedar and his DP Patrick Scola are choosing are remarkable. The camera becomes another character in the film. It is stunning. The way shots are framed and how the camera moves it feels like compassion is radiating from the camera onto our characters. When the cinematography of a film evokes the themes that are being written and performed, I think that we have a generational movie on our hands.
As I have said, this movie is rich a thematic elements. Showcased through brilliant performances, a tender camera and a very human script. A script that is both heartbreaking and hopeful. A clear emphasis that people are gathering from this movie is the importance and the power of art. And I agree. I think when watching this movie, we should understand that art has a real power to it, that it can give someone purpose and even heal them in a sense. But at it's roots I believe this movie is less about the power of art, but more about the power of being beloved. Emily Belz of Christianity Today writes "That’s what the movie is about: how being beloved can change someone, can make the irredeemable redeemed." Belovedness is what transforms us. When on the surface we are broken, beat up, sinful and has a past of wrongdoings as long as the Great Wall of China. When we are beloved, everything changes. Life is all about being beloved, by others and by God. This movie displays that truth. That being beloved is a powerful thing that can and will change a person. It can make the "irredeemable redeemed."
This is a film I cannot wait to rewatch and I will be thinking about it for a very long time.
“I wouldn’t even be here without you, beloved.”