Everyone involved with “Sing Sing” has high hopes for a hopeful, tear-jerking film set in what many consider to be probably the most depressing and hopeless place – the titular reformatory in New York.
But Sing Sing is just not a clichéd film about prison life; it’s in regards to the importance of human relationships, the empathy of the humanities and the art of empathy, all expressed through the actions of the inmates, who bond over a whimsical production that pulls inspiration from the real-life Rehabilitation Through the Arts program.
“The film is set in a prison, but it's not about a prison,” summarizes Oscar-nominated actor Colman Domingo, the charismatic lead. “We made this film believing that people want a story like this.”
He can be quick to indicate that the film was conceived and made outside of the Hollywood studio system and will possibly even influence later productions.
Long within the making, “Sing Sing” also stars Bay Area stage actor Sean San Jose, Paul Raci and a powerful array of first-time film and former prison actors, including his co-star Clarence Maclin.
After a standing ovation at film festivals and advance screenings – including an emotional one at the true Ossining Correctional Facility, where the film is ready (only the outside shots were utilized in the film) – the A24 film hits Bay Area theaters on Friday.
Maclin proves to be the film's revelation in his role because the cocky, self-proclaimed “court bird” Divine Eye, who takes suggestions from his stage-savvy mentor Divine G (Domingo), who was locked up for a criminal offense he didn't commit. With G's help, Divine Eye reveals unexpected flashes of talent that then thunder onstage. The gregarious Colman plays a variation of himself, offering hope that “Sing Sing” will raise awareness of the lads held behind the partitions of cells and what they should offer society after they leave those confining partitions.
“One of the most important things I want people to take away from ('Sing Sing') is that people in prison are people,” Maclin said during a promotional tour for the film with Kewdar, Domingo and Sean San Jose in San Francisco – a spot Domingo and San Jose know thoroughly.
“They're human beings and whatever happened to them, they're alive and that's already happened,” Maclin said. “They all have the ability to change, to grow. It just depends on how much we invest in them. How much hope we invest in them. How much inspiration we invest in them. How much trust we put in them, because a lot of people in prison would love to be trusted and brought back into the community and be able to participate and be constructive.”
Maclin puts these words into motion, not only on camera, but in real life, working with at-risk youth.
What made working on Sing Sing so special for Domingo (he signed on before the script was finished) was the way in which the solid and crew worked together and everybody's willingness to adapt when something wasn't working.
When that happened, “we really had to go back into the kitchen and figure that out because it feels wrong,” he said. “And they were like, 'It doesn't feel right' or 'The staging doesn't feel right.' We chimed in because it was like everyone owned the movie.”
Another pleasure for Domingo was reuniting with Sean San Jose, artistic director of the Magic Theatre Company and founding father of the Campo Santo stage company. The two worked together on the Rhinoceros Theatre in San Francisco within the late Nineteen Nineties and later at Berkeley Rep, San Jose Rep and American Conservatory Theatre.
Domingo and Sean San Jose – who plays Mike Mike, Divine G's best friend in prison – have the most effective scenes in “Sing Sing” when their characters reveal quite a bit about themselves one night in adjoining cells. It was a scene that was sketched out on paper but then expanded and improvised by the 2 stage friends – who can tell in a split second what the opposite is trying to perform after which execute it because the scene unfolds.
“I had never done a shot like this before, or for this long,” San Jose said. “And here's the trust in the gift of the process. We did it. We did it. … And then Colman took me aside and said that was good. And because he knows me, he said, 'I know what's in the chamber. So let's do another one.'”
What also impressed Domingo and San Jose in regards to the production was the way in which Kewdar and his filmmaking partner Clint Bentley created a blueprint that would function a template for future indie filmmakers. Their novel financial approach involves paying everyone involved within the production – from the lead actor to the gaffer – the identical salary while also giving everyone a share.
“Everything about it is brand new and moving. I think the industry hopefully represents a new way of being,” Domingo said.
In this respect, “Sing Sing” differs from other movies in its impact: it represents a transparent departure from the everyday cinematic portrayal of men in prison.
Maclin avoided watching movies that were similar in theme or setting.
“We don't see them. We don't see them,” he said. “We don't see ourselves in them. This has nothing to do with me.”
Kwedar avoided dwelling on what had been seen on screen before to create something kinetic and special.
“We didn't visit any previous works from the cannon,” said the director of the 2016 border thriller “Transpecos.” “I don't think you can really classify this film as a prison film or a theater story. It kind of exists on its own.”
Developing a correct film took Kewdar and his creative partner Clint Bentley plenty of time – eight years of editing, designing, creating after which going back to the proverbial drafting board. None of it really stuck on the story wall.
The genesis of “Sing Sing” began when Kewdar was helping a friend make a brief documentary a couple of maximum security prison in Wichita, Kansas, and while touring the prison, he discovered a young man incarcerated there who was raising a rescued dog.
An idea nestles in his brain…
Wondering if there have been other programs like this within the prison system, he began researching online and got here across a 2005 Esquire article a couple of theater production related to the RTA program. The article was titled “Sing Sing Follies.”
Bingo.
But from there on out, the narrative spark that fueled the engine was missing. That spark got here when director, playwright and RTA volunteer Brent Buell (played by Oscar nominee Raci) introduced Kewdar and Bentley to Maclin and other former prison inmates over breakfast six years into the event process. Both were impressed by the lads's charisma and presence.
Maclin knew immediately that Kewdar would respect his story and tell it well.
“Clint and Greg had a really genuine feeling about them,” he explains. “Like they weren't there to exploit us. They weren't there to treat us like a tax write-off. … A lot of people want to do something for prisoners or for people who they feel are less fortunate than them so they can sleep well at night. I didn't get that feeling with Greg and Clint.”
The transition from stage to screen took some getting used to for Maclin. Domingo, Kewdar and Raci helped him adjust to a brand new art form.
“I'm used to that stage and I have to make sure the guy at the back of the court can hear every word I say. (Domingo, Kewdar and Raci) showed me how to get it across from this big school.”
Given the hopeful nature of the film, Domingo hopes that “Sing Sing” will encourage, each due to the story it tells and the way in which it was made.
He recognizes that studios must “turn the lights on in a different way to appeal to the masses,” but that there’s also a approach to “tell those stories” that aren’t otherwise being told.
“We want to tell them in an extraordinary and complex way,” he said. “So if we are now beacons of hope in this industry, that's kind of cool… We want to tell mining stories that are unique to us.”
image credit : www.mercurynews.com