a review of Sing Sing

this film is nothing short of a miracle. i'm typing out this review covered (absolutely covered) in salt from my own tears. truly so many different kinds of tears. i cried like big ugly tears that made me short of breath. i cried happy tears while laughing (heartfelt belly laughing). i cried sad tears somehow also while laughing. i love art so much. i truly love art so, so much. this film is deep...layered...there are so, so many stories packed in here, and they are all so alive and so full of love. clarence maclin and colman domingo are breathtaking in this. there are too many other stellar acting performances in here to name them all. this was heartfelt, it was funny, it was heartbreaking, it was hopeful, it was honest, it was vulnerable. i think the themes that hit me the hardest were about the power of love, the power of vulnerability, the power of connection, the power of art. about an hour in, i felt my mind wandering...the only time i wasn't absolutely glued to the screen, this shit is riveting. i felt myself getting annoyed that the writers weren't more strongly condemning the us prison system that decimates the lives of millions of truly incredible people. i wanted them to be painting the guards, the parole board, the jails cops as evil, the truly evil motherfuckers that they are. and then...i surrendered...because that isn't the point of this film, of this story. this one is a break from that. it has a different story to tell. (i also realized as the film carried on, that it was in fact condemning all those evil motherfuckers and the broken ass system, albeit in a more restrained, subtle way.) i don't know what else to say about this. maybe it won't be five stars for everyone (obviously)...but this is required viewing. wow, i love art so, so much. i can't believe this was directed by a white boy. (sorry, i had to say it.) i'll be watching this again, probably soon. abolish prisons, the prison industrial complex, and capitalism, now. no one is free until we are all free.