Sing Sing Review
08/20/24 • 78 min
When I think of the genre of prison drama, what do I think of? As a child of the 90s, Shawshank Redemption (1994) and The Green Mile (1999) come to mind first; the former in particular defined the genre forever thereafter. I think of the struggle to survive, full of violence and terror. I think of the bleakness of never getting out and the desperate scheming to escape or undermine the system. I think of crime and corruption perpetuated within the carceral system itself.
Greg Kwedar’s Sing Sing, in theaters now, defies all of these expectations. While it does not shy away from the oppressive confinement of prison life, it offers a story of the hope and joy experienced by inmates participating in the RTA or Rehabilitation Through the Arts Program, which began in 1996 at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility in New York. It’s a moving love letter to the dramatic arts, and is never exploitative or voyeuristic.
In this episode of The Long Take Review, P.T., Greg, Antonio, and I identify ways in which Sing Sing subverts prison movie stereotypes, reflect on how the film represents incarceration, and try to understand how this film achieves its authenticity and avoids saccharine storytelling. Could it be an early frontrunner in the Oscar race? Is Coleman Domingo a shoe-in for Best Actor, hot off his nomination last year? And what additional insight can Antonio’s legal background offer our interpretation of the film? Join our conversation to find out.
You can listen to The Long Take Review on Substack, Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Image Credit: A24
Movie News Update: What’s going on with Joaquin and Todd? (But not the Todd you think.) 3:50
The Short Take: Our spoiler-free review Sing Sing. 12:57
The Recommendation Algorithm: Why might folks who wouldn’t normally go for a movie about prison want to watch this? How does it align with or subvert the prison movie genre? 18:23
SPOILER MODE: How does this film represent incarceration and the criminal justice system? What is it trying to say about the prison system? Featuring Lessons in the Law with Antonio! 24:28
The Rhetorical Situation: How does this film represent theater and the arts? What does this film have in common with our teaching? 51:45
Oscars Watch: This movie seems poised to make an Oscar play. How far can it go? 1:01:11
All music licensed through Epidemic Sound.
Logo art: Illustration 73265080 © Worldofvector | Dreamstime.com
Get full access to The Long Take at thelongtake.substack.com/subscribe
When I think of the genre of prison drama, what do I think of? As a child of the 90s, Shawshank Redemption (1994) and The Green Mile (1999) come to mind first; the former in particular defined the genre forever thereafter. I think of the struggle to survive, full of violence and terror. I think of the bleakness of never getting out and the desperate scheming to escape or undermine the system. I think of crime and corruption perpetuated within the carceral system itself.
Greg Kwedar’s Sing Sing, in theaters now, defies all of these expectations. While it does not shy away from the oppressive confinement of prison life, it offers a story of the hope and joy experienced by inmates participating in the RTA or Rehabilitation Through the Arts Program, which began in 1996 at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility in New York. It’s a moving love letter to the dramatic arts, and is never exploitative or voyeuristic.
In this episode of The Long Take Review, P.T., Greg, Antonio, and I identify ways in which Sing Sing subverts prison movie stereotypes, reflect on how the film represents incarceration, and try to understand how this film achieves its authenticity and avoids saccharine storytelling. Could it be an early frontrunner in the Oscar race? Is Coleman Domingo a shoe-in for Best Actor, hot off his nomination last year? And what additional insight can Antonio’s legal background offer our interpretation of the film? Join our conversation to find out.
You can listen to The Long Take Review on Substack, Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Image Credit: A24
Movie News Update: What’s going on with Joaquin and Todd? (But not the Todd you think.) 3:50
The Short Take: Our spoiler-free review Sing Sing. 12:57
The Recommendation Algorithm: Why might folks who wouldn’t normally go for a movie about prison want to watch this? How does it align with or subvert the prison movie genre? 18:23
SPOILER MODE: How does this film represent incarceration and the criminal justice system? What is it trying to say about the prison system? Featuring Lessons in the Law with Antonio! 24:28
The Rhetorical Situation: How does this film represent theater and the arts? What does this film have in common with our teaching? 51:45
Oscars Watch: This movie seems poised to make an Oscar play. How far can it go? 1:01:11
All music licensed through Epidemic Sound.
Logo art: Illustration 73265080 © Worldofvector | Dreamstime.com
Get full access to The Long Take at thelongtake.substack.com/subscribe
Previous Episode
Star Wars Spotlight: D23 News and The Acolyte Season Review
As summer blockbuster season winds down and awards season just starts to warm up with a flurry of fall film festivals, P.T., Greg, and I thought it would be a great time to nerd out about Star Wars. First, we react to some recent news coming out of the D23 Expo (including a movie! finally!), and then we review the entire season of The Acolyte that concluded on Disney+ a few weeks ago. That naturally brings us to a ranking exercise. We debate, negotiate, and conciliate to put all the Disney+ Star Wars series in order from best to worst. How will our takes and favs line up with yours? What fan edits would P.T. make to The Acolyte? And how many times can Greg crack jokes about Jude Law’s filmography? Search your feelings, connect to The Force, and join us for a fun conversation.
You can listen to The Long Take Review on Substack, Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Image Credit: StarWars.com
[SPOILER ALERT: Unlike our regular reviews, this will have spoilers for all of Star Wars from the very beginning.]
Movie News Update: We react to Star Wars news coming out of D23. When is the next time we’ll see Star Wars on a screen, both big and small? 3:58
The Short Take: What were our impressions of The Acolyte, now that we’ve had a few weeks to sit with it? This also kind of free flows to a capacious discussion of The Acolyte in general. 44:30
Our Disney+ Star Wars Rankings We try to come to a consensus on how we should rank all 8 series. 1:52:48
All music licensed through Epidemic Sound.
Logo art: Illustration 73265080 © Worldofvector | Dreamstime.com
Get full access to The Long Take at thelongtake.substack.com/subscribe
Next Episode
Didi Review
Director Sean Wang has arrived. His documentary short film, “Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó,” landed an Oscar nomination and, a few months later, his first narrative feature film, Didi, won the Audience Award for the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
While “Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó” has been available to watch on Disney+ for some time, Didi just released in theaters at the end of July. It offers a window into the life of Chris, a Taiwanese-American teenager, the summer before he starts high school. He must traverse friends, family, girls, parties, and online life in 2008.
No matter how much critical praise Didi, collects, it may get drowned out amidst all of the flashier Oscar contenders on the verge of premiering in the coming weeks. Can Sean Wang strike Oscar nom gold again? Or is an indie coming of age film too small to last all the way through the season?
On this episode of The Long Take Review, P.T., Greg, Antonio, and I try to read the tea leaves and speculate as to Didi’s future. We each share what aspects of the film resonated with us personally, celebrate its funniest moments, and reflect on the halcyon days of AOL Instant Messenger.
You can listen to The Long Take Review on Substack, Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Image Credit: Variety
All music licensed through Epidemic Sound.
Logo art: Illustration 73265080 © Worldofvector | Dreamstime.com
Get full access to The Long Take at thelongtake.substack.com/subscribe
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