SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for Sing Sing. If you haven’t already, you can watch it streaming with a Max subscription.
Though Sing Sing was considered one of the best movies of 2024, I never got a chance to see the critically acclaimed A24 film on the big screen (or at all last year). Well, when I found out it was going to be one of the new and recent movies streaming in March 2025, I made sure to change that as soon as possible. And I did, and I’m grateful for that.
Going into Greg Kwedar’s moving prison drama about a group of inmates who escape the reality of incarceration by participating in a tight-knit theatre program, I expected it to be a tremendous and powerful experience. While the whole story of redemption, rebirth, and the importance of art programs on the soul was absolutely stunning, there’s one subtle aspect of the movie that hit me hard, and it’s all I have been able to think about…
I Knew Sing Sing Was Going To Be An Incredibly Emotional And Powerful Experience, And It Was
When I first heard about Sing Sing sometime last year, I thought that this movie had all the elements of a powerful and emotional story: a revolutionary arts program, a man serving a prison sentence for a crime he didn’t commit, characters learning how to better themselves and form meaningful relationships with their peers and the world around them. It had everything you’d want in a drama. After finally watching it, I can happily say that it was powerful, it was emotional, and it was an experience I won’t soon forget.
Based on the real-life story of the Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA) program at Sing Sing Maximum Security Prison in New York State, the Oscar-nominated drama explores the resilience of the human spirit, the life-changing impact of the arts, and the importance of human interaction, even in the toughest of settings and situations. I laughed, I cried, and I was taken aback more times than I can count.
And There Were Plenty Of Times When I Forgot The Movie Was Set In A Prison
There were countless times throughout Sing Sing when I completely forgot this was a movie set in prison. Colman Domingo’s Oscar-nominated performance as John “Divine G” Whitfield, Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin playing a fictionalized version of himself, other former inmates portraying themselves, and Paul Raci’s take on theatre director Brent Buell were all so transformative and transfixing that I simply saw this as a movie about actors struggling to put on an ambitious production of a time-traveling comedy with multiple storylines.
This is especially true early on when the RTA group is trying to decide which play they want to put on for this season’s production or in the final stretch preparing for Breakin’ the Mummy’s Code. They seem less like a group of convicts spending years, decades, or the rest of their lives behind bars and more like a hungry group of actors trying to push themselves and each other to new heights.
But All The Subtle Reminders Of The Actors' Incarceration And Life In Prison Hit Me So Hard
What really got me while watching Sing Sing was the inclusion of all these subtle reminders that while these were actors working on their craft and trying to make a change in their lives, this is still a movie set in a maximum security prison.
There’s a scene early on in the movie following Divine G as he feeds some geese in the prison yard, and it was honestly one of the most beautiful and peaceful things I’ve seen. Just as the calm scene reaches its peak, an alarm goes off and all the inmates fall to the ground, and we’re reminded that this is a story about actors but also prisoners. Later on, Divine G has to deal with a random search of his cell, and it’s the same feeling all over again. What makes both of these scenes work so well is the fact that not a lot of attention is drawn to them; they just come off as a part of life.
I Was Blown Away By The Stories Of The Characters Balancing The Escape Of Art And Cold Reminders Of Reality
Another thing I really liked about Sing Sing was the way the characters balanced the escape their art gave them and the cold reminders of reality (like the examples I mentioned above). Throughout the movie, I was blown away by how Divine G, Divine Eye, and other RTA actors managed to keep it all together, at least for the most part.
There is a whole section near the end of the movie where Divine G loses it, lashes out at everyone, and sinks into an isolated pit of depression and despair, but that is only after he faces one difficult situation after another. The death of his best friend, the failed clemency hearing, Divine Eye’s upcoming release- it all gets the best of him, and that’s okay. He’s only human! The emotional and spiritual breakdown brought on by the overwhelming reality of prison life was astounding and really took my breath away.
Similarly, Sing Sing Also Had This Great Sound Design That Never Let You Forget About The Real World For Long
Though I can totally see why Dune: Part Two took home the Oscar for Best Sound during the 2025 Academy Awards ceremony, after watching Sing Sing, I’m surprised the incredible A24 movie wasn’t at least nominated. The recreation of one of the country’s most notorious prisons was made all the more believable thanks to the brilliant sound design throughout the film. And there’s one aspect of this that got me the most: all the sounds beyond the prison fences that keep reminding you of the outside world.
The sound of a train passing by the prison can be heard multiple times, as can birds that can come and go as they please. Crickets, cicadas, and frogs at night reach out like a natural symphony as Divine G and his fellow inmates are left contemplating their lives at night. Similar to scenes reminding me that this was in fact set in a prison, these sounds were stark reminders of reality.
Sing Sing is seriously one of the most uplifting movies I’ve watched in years, and it's an experience I won’t soon forget.
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