Movie Review

Uplifting prison film Sing Sing stars surprising, impressive cast

Colman Domingo and Clarence Maclin in Sing Sing.

Photo courtesy of A24

Movies set in prison tend to be relatively dark, as their focus is typically on the difficulties faced by the incarcerated individuals, with mere survival often front of mind. It would be wrong to say that the new film Sing Sing is free from such darkness, but the story it tells is one that has more hope in it than you might expect.

Divine G (Colman Domingo) is one of around 1,500 men at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility in New York, and one of many who claim that they are incarcerated for a crime they didn’t commit. As a way to lighten his load while waiting and hoping for his appeal to be accepted, he co-founded a theater group called Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA) that lets a small group sort through their feelings in a socially-acceptable way.

The film follows the group as they welcome a new member, Divine Eye (Clarence Maclin), a guy who almost always has his guard up. Instead of the usual drama that the group likes to perform, Divine Eye suggests doing a comedy. The group’s leader, Brent Buell (Paul Raci), soon puts together a script that combines a variety of disparate elements, but getting the temperamental Divine Eye to fully buy in to what the group is doing comes down to how persuasive Divine G is.

Directed and co-written by Greg Kwedar, and co-written by Clint Bentley, the film doesn’t rely so much on story as it does on the emotions that come with being part of the group and being in prison in the first place. Lip service is paid to the crimes members of the group may or may not have committed – Divine G was convicted of second-degree murder – with the emphasis instead on how RTA is helping them become better people.

Based on the real program that’s still in effect at Sing Sing and other prisons, one of the most remarkable things about the film is that Domingo, Raci, and Sean San José (who plays a character named Mike Mike) are the sole professional actors in the cast. Maclin and the other members of the group are either former incarcerated individuals who were part of RTA or had some connection to the program, and their acting skills in this film clearly show how effective it has been.

The depth of the story is slowly but surely revealed as each of the men figure out their respective characters in the play. Though Kwedar and Bentley don’t explicitly talk about this aspect, one can only imagine the power of being able to escape into a world where the men don’t have to ponder their day-to-day existence. That’s in addition to discovering sides of themselves that they may not have ever thought about, something that’s unique to those with a love for acting.

Domingo is, quite simply, one of the finest actors working today, and this performance only burnishes his glowing reputation. He and Raci are both former Oscar nominees, but they never try to outshine the amateurs in the cast. Instead, they are generous with their talent, helping to elevate everyone else. There’s not one second of falseness in the film, and much of it can be chalked up to those efforts.

The prison industrial complex can tar everyone convicted of a crime with the same brush, and films like Sing Sing are essential in not only giving an alternate view of prisoners, but also showing that programs like RTA can work to prevent recidivism. It also demonstrates that you don’t have to have a long resume to be a great actor.

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Sing Sing is now playing in select theaters.

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Vinyl Record News

Dallas record store chain Josey Records spins new location in Garland

Josey Records

Vinyl at Josey Records

Dallas music maker Josey Records has extended its reach east: The record store chain, whose empire includes one of the largest single independent record stores in the U.S., has opened a location in Garland, at 1005 Northwest Hwy., at the intersection of Centerville Road, where it's selling its trademark assortment of vinyl records, CDs, cassettes, turntables, music posters, new releases, and music accessories.

This is the sixth location and the third in the Dallas area, joining the original in Farmers Branch which owners Waric Cameron and Luke Sardello opened in November 2014. They've since opened locations in Plano, Tulsa, Kansas City, and Vidalia, Missouri.

The original location is a giant place with 16,000 square feet devoted to vinyl, 45s, CDs, turntables, and T-shirts. They do a good job showcasing new releases and collector vinyl — they made CultureMap's list of 5 best places in Dallas to buy vinyl records — and are known to host album release and listening parties such as a recent blockbuster celebrating Linkin Park.

They made headlines in June 2020 when they acquired the vast musical inventory of Bill’s Records following the death of owner Bill Wisener; Cameron and Sardello both worked at Bill’s, and knew the sprawling collection first-hand.

"It has taken us years to even start going through it, but in last two years, we've made some headway," Cameron says. "Bill's has its own audience, so we created a specific Instagram account, just for Bill's Records merchandise called @billsrecordsvault."

They chose Garland because they saw it as an area that was under-served.

"There are very few record stores in that area of northeast Dallas, Casa View, Garland, Rockwall, Mesquite," Cameron says. "We have customers who live over there, so it seemed like a good place for a store."

The storefront they're in was most recently The Music Store, which sold and rented musical instruments and accessories; but coincidentally, it's next to an address that was once RPM Records, a hip record store from the '90s.

The Garland store follows the same model as their others: selling new and used records and merchandise, and buying used goods, as well.

"One thing that's cool is that each location takes on its own identity," he says. "We buy used CDs, vinyl records, cassettes — we're a used resale business — and what we buy from our customers dictates what that store becomes. For example, our Plano store has a lot of classic rock. So we're looking forward to seeing what Garland gravitates to."

Garland does have one thing that the other locations do not.

"Right now, Garland has this incredible collection of jazz," Cameron says. "We bought a great collection of jazz records — someone called and wanted to sell it. We get that a lot, we buy major collections from all over the U.S., we even make house calls. So we saved it for the Garland store."