In Focus-Magazine Sing Sing

Sing Sing is a two-pronged fictional narrative. On the face of it, the film takes the viewer into the minds and experiences of a group of incarcerated men who are doing hard time in Sing Sing, a maximum security prison located in Ossining, NY. Men who, for the most part, see no future for themselves outside the prison walls. Men who are murderers, drug dealers, once kings of their home turf, now basically ignored by friends and families on the outside.

The second prong, and the impetus for the narrative, is to inform the viewer of the importance of the arts programs that have been developed and nurtured inside the cellblock's walls. To shed light on the power that the arts holds, with it's unique ability to reach even the most emotionally stunted, hardened individuals. To get them to feel human, but not feel weak in doing so. Through Sing Sing, we are exposed and informed about one such venture - the RTA prison arts program.

Currently operating at eight correctional security facilities in NY State, Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA) was founded at Sing Sing in 1996. In this film, Coleman Domingo stars as one of the founders, creatives and actors in the program. Domingo's John 'Divine G' Whitfield also writes some of the scripts for the troupe's productions, as well mentoring the inmates, helping them to find their inner creative voice. Voices that have long been silenced by the society whose rules and Commandments they have broken. Asking an audience to find compassion for murderers is challenging, but Director Greg Kwedar manages to forge a path forward. And that path is lit by Domingo's Whitfield.

Whitfield has been incarcerated for a crime that he hasn't committed, and it has taken him years to unearth the evidence that might set him free. A published author, alone in his cell, he spends his time typing into his Selectric, churning out scripts as well as legal advice for his fellow inmates.

The latest of the Sing Sing Follies, by which the RTA performances are advertised, has just been showcased for prison inmates and invited guests, and it's time for a new show. The group's casting department is considering potential new faces among the prisoners.

Whitfield is pointed in the direction of Clarence Maclin, a fellow inmate with unbridled rage, who threatens people who've done nothing more sinister than to walk too closely behind him. Though their relationship begins harshly, Whitfield eventually takes Clarence 'Divine Eye' Maclin under his wing and tries to show him that, although none of them can physically escape the prison walls, within the structure of a performance they can mentally and emotionally catch their breath.

In his real life outside this film, Maclin already has one peformance under his belt, participating in Unlocked: The Power of the Arts in Prison. Undoubtedly, that role lead him to his co-starring performance here in Sing Sing.

In fact, the majority of the on-screen talent in Sing Sing are incarcerated prisoners. Director Kwedar lets the men's stories roll out on screen, including scenes allowing them to display their fears and their fondest memories. As the stories are related to us by

the performers, the audience has absolutely no way of knowing how much of each man's tale is part of his own, true backstory.

Brent (Paul Raci), the RTA show Director, treats every prisoner with respect, always referring to them as 'gentlemen'. He encourages them to 'trust the process' as well as believe in the necessity of the group exercises. These allow the men to learn to trust each other as well as provide them some stolen moments of freedom of the mind, if not the body. But he's no pushover, standing up to their defiance, and thereby earning their respect.

You'll walk away from the film with a fuller understanding of how exposure to the arts is transformative, even in the worst of circumstances. That it's as necessary for human development and furthering human interaction as a nourishing meal. Without art, without the power of imagination, we as a species will stagnate.

Lisa Blanck is the Associate Editor / Movie Reviewer for In Focus-Magazine.com and is a member of the Critics Association of Central Florida. Her background includes 30+ years of digital editing for NBC and CBS News affiliates. She also edits national promotional spots for Matter Of Fact, the #1 nationally syndicated news & information program. For 30+ years she has covered the Florida Film Festival & the World Peace Film Festival, and has additional award-winning experience in advertising, marketing, promotions and live special events with MTV Networks.