3.5 Razors

• Title: Selah and The Spades
• IMDb: link

Written and directed by Tayarisha Poe, Selah and The Spades offers a look at the cliques inside the private high school of Haldwell where its title character (played by Lovie Simone) reigns supreme by running the school’s drug-dealing faction known as the Spades. It’s highs are stronger than its lows, but Poe’s film has enough of each to undercut the storytelling at times leading to an uneven tale of the secret life of spoiled high school students after hours.

The film finds it strength in Simone as the out-going senior troubled by insecurities, rivals, and an overbearing mother (Gina Torres) who has her daughter’s life planned out, and Celeste O’Connor as the younger transfer student who Selah takes under her wing. While the film teases something more between them, in the end it’s hard to tell just what the two mean to each other (or if they even know). Also of note are Poe’s vision and the cinematography of Jomo Fray, both of which help frame the story as something apart from the majority of high school films. Even if the ending feels rushed and somewhat unsatisfying, enough of Selah and The Spades works to make it memorable in a year where that could be scarce.

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