Sing Sing (2024)

Based on the true story of prison theatre program Rehabilitation Through the Arts, Sing Sing soars with compassion, speaking to the reformative power of performance and forgiveness. Oscar nominated Colman Domingo has never been better than he is here in the lead, but it's to the credit of everyone involved that he doesn't outshine the rest of the cast, a seamless mix of professional actors and non-professionals who once took part in the real life program. Clarence Maclin is especially moving in a role that interrogates how trauma and toxic masculinity doesn't have to define us as people.

Of all the films nominated at this year‘s Oscars, Sing Sing might just have been the most beautiful: both visually and thematically. Sing Sing is a tale of one man’s pursuit of purpose, and the idea that the power of creativity can allow us to escape the boxes – both physically and figuratively – we are placed in. Anyone with a penchant for profound dramas like If Beale Street Could Talk and The Last Black Man in San Francisco will lap this one up with delight. Somebody please give Colman Domingo his Oscar!