Colman Domingo is at the peak of his considerable powers in Greg Kwedar’s inspirational, fact-based prison drama Sing Sing. The actor, who was Oscar-nominated last year for his lead performance in Rustin, and who has given eye-catching supporting turns in If Beale Street Could Talk, The Color Purple, Zola and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, to barely scratch the surface, has an effortless magnetism that draws the eye and makes him the focus of every frame. The kind of performer who doesn’t need to say a word to speak volumes, he is, without doubt, one of the finest actors currently working. All of which makes his casting in this small-scale, intimate, ripped-from-reality tale an unexpectedly risky decision.
Domingo, who plays real-life prisoner (now released) John Whitfield, aka Divine G, is surrounded by a cast largely made up of non-professional former convicts playing characters based on themselves. The presence of an Academy Award nominee of Domingo’s calibre could very easily have tipped the whole project off balance. And while it’s true that there are moments when it feels as though he and the rest of the cast are acting in two different films, it’s a testament to Domingo’s generosity as a performer that this happens only rarely. Equally, it’s a testament to the talent and raw authenticity of his co-stars that we are as invested in their stories as we are in that of Divine G.
