22/47
Divine G, imprisoned in Sing Sing for a crime he didn’t commit, finds purpose performing in a theater group with other incarcerated men in this story of resilience, humanity, and the transformative power of art. At the beginning of the film, the cast auditions for various roles in the play. These are actual audition tapes used to cast the film. The group is criticized for not doing comedies, but their previous work was A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which is a comedy. Featured in Late Night with Seth Meyers: Anna Faris/Colman Domingo/Jose Medeles (2024). Blades composed by Bryce Dessner. This was a very skillfully and professionally made film, hampered a bit by the lack of important plot elements. The film itself is solid on all technical fronts. The dialogue is real and raw, the narrative arc and pacing are perfect, and the acting is extremely solid. However, in none of these areas does the film really stand out. Unfortunately, this seems to be the case throughout the film. There are a lot of good things going on: layered conversations and meanings, good musical choices, even risks. However, nothing is truly exemplary. Perhaps the film’s biggest sin is its dedication to the character-driven drama genre. I appreciate the slow burn, but there are long stretches of the film where nothing happens and there’s sort of no outcome at stake in the story. Maybe it’s a give and take: the film’s atmosphere works really well, combined with the shaky-camera style of photography, giving it a real, raw energy. The cost is that a central theme, or plot, if there is one, becomes muddled. Ultimately, this is a good film that I’m sure will be a big hit with some people. It’s definitely worth a watch, but for me it just feels a little boring.