The Reel Review
An inmate doing time for a crime he didn’t commit experiences a life change when a new member joins his theatrical troupe at the Sing Sing maximum security correctional facility in upstate New York. Oscar nominees Colman Domingo (Rustin) and Paul Raci (Sound of Metal) star in this poignant prison drama based on a true story and featuring many actual former inmates from the troupe, including co-star Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin.

At first glance, Sing Sing looks like it could have been an All About Eve goes to prison as the two stars audition for the same part in the new play, but the story from director Greg Kwedar and co-writer Clint Bentley quickly takes a different tactic, keeping the action airy and realistic and illustrating how art can help teach inmates to work together, get them in touch with their feelings and create a sense of camaraderie and belonging. Having nearly all of the supporting cast of troupe members play fictionalized versions of themselves from when they were imprisoned at Sing Sing is a real meta moment.

Domingo and Maclin both give strong, lived-in performances and have excellent onscreen chemistry. Although it would have been nice to see more character development of the supporting cast of inmates, Sing Sing still deservedly earns its poignant tearjerker of an ending.
REEL FACTS
• The real Divine G Whitfield appears in the first few minutes of the film, in the scene asking for Divine G (Domingo)’s autograph.
• The audition tapes in Sing Sing are the actual audition tapes the former inmates recorded in order to be cast in the film, which is also the first to premiere simultaneously in theaters and U.S. prisons.
• Sing Sing received three 2025 Oscar nominations, for Best Actor (Domingo), Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Song.