SING SING (2023) ¢ ¢ ¢ 1/2
D: Greg Kwedar
Colman Domingo, Clarence Maclin, Sean San Jose,
Paul Raci, David Giraudy, Patrick Griffin, Mosi Eagle
This is like a feature-length movie about an acting class, with the spotlight on a theater group made up of inmates rehearsing a comedy to be performed behind bars. The movie and the play that's being rehearsed - a crazed mashup of pirates, ancient Egyptians, time travel and "Hamlet" - reflect off each other, with the actors mostly ex-cons playing themselves. It steers clear of the real bad stuff that goes with being in a maximum-security prison, but you do get a claustrophobic sense of what it feels like to be locked up, and how any kind of creative outlet - in this case theater - can help keep the demons at bay.
