Welcome to the new world of movie reviewing (and therefore movie experiences)! This movie is one of the first that we have reviewed for online movie releases. Since the world is self-isolating, we will probably see more and more movie reviews for straight to video or streaming movies. Be sure to also share you Selah and The Spades Review with us. Sure, you don’t get to watch the movie as intended with fellow audience members, but you also don’t have to listen to idiots talk and chew popcorn with their mouths open. Either way, you can still enjoy Milk Duds while watching!
Selah and the Spades is a film about a lovely, charming, manipulative and scary antihero, Selah (Lovie Simone). Selah is a senior at a posh Pennsylvania boarding school where she leads a drug dealing faction called the Spades. She is also an honor student, cheerleader, and very popular. What makes her such an interesting character is that she is identifiable in so many ways but then she also deals in narcotics and booze and has people beaten up that cross her. The director/writer Tayarisha Poe describes the movie as Clueless meets The Godfather. Selah is both Cher and Don Corleone. This is an absolutely wicked fun concept to be portrayed by a teenager girl. We see Selah struggle with an overbearing mom (the always glorious Gina Torres), guide her protégé Paloma (Celeste O’Connor), lean on her best buddy Maxxie (Jharrel Jerome), and tussle with her rival Bobby (Ana Mulvoy Ten). Selah could be your daughter or friend or next-door neighbor. One that you would eventually have to bail out of jail, of course.
Tayarisha Poe has made a very beautiful movie. Every scene is glorious. Every shot is perfect. She uses every inch of her boarding school set to create a continuously dazzling shot. Ms. Poe has also made a movie that we don’t get to see very often: an arthouse pic starring a young woman as the lead. The last indie one I can remember is 2017’s Thoroughbreds (which is an EXCELLENT movie that should look for). Teens need more art films (and movies in general).
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Selah and the Spades is now playing on Amazon! ENJOY! Watch it today on Amazon!