Five factions run the underground life of the prestigious Haldwell boarding school. At the head of the most powerful faction - The Spades - sits Selah Summers. By turns charming and callous, she chooses whom to keep close and whom to cut loose, walking the fine line between being feared and loved.... (Full plot summary below)
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Five factions run the underground life of the prestigious Haldwell boarding school. At the head of the most powerful faction - The Spades - sits Selah Summers. By turns charming and callous, she chooses whom to keep close and whom to cut loose, walking the fine line between being feared and loved.
Leave your thoughts about Selah and the Spades.
| Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperThe screenplay packs a punch and a sharp bite, the visuals are dazzling, the camerawork captures the fever-dream madness of the story — and the performances from the young cast (and a few solid veterans) are spot-on. |
| Film ThreatBradley GibsonThe level of craft in Poe’s feature debut exceeds that of directors with more experience and portends a long career with more wonderful art to come. In Selah and the Spades, she has created a new classic tale of power, love, hate, loyalty, and betrayal featuring a stunningly talented cast. |
| VarietyAmy NicholsonWriter-director Tayarisha Poe’s cold and stylish debut, commands attention. More specifically, Simone’s Selah seizes it. |
| Los Angeles TimesJen YamatoAs a character study, Selah and the Spades is more than requiem for a mean girl. Think the stylistic snappiness of “Brick” meets the fastidious world-building of “Rushmore” with a fourth-wall-bending feminist perspective and two young black female leads, and you’ve got “Selah.” |
| The New York TimesTeo BugbeeSelah and the Spades shimmers with youthful promise, both in front of the camera and behind it. |
| TheWrapSteve PondAt times the storytelling may make the story look and feel more interesting than it is, particularly in an ending that feels as if it rushes to find a bit of forced redemption. But Poe is an assured first-time director who has created a high-school movie that feels distinct from all the high-school movies that preceded it. |
| The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzBut while first-timer mistakes abound – everyone except the three leads deliver performances so stiff I wondered if they were deliberate – Selah and the Spades is more than just a slick calling card. It’s impassioned, informed and sometimes furious work that could find Poe being name-checked herself not too long from now. |
| ReelViewsJames BerardinelliIt’s closer to horror than the usual lightweight fare one finds in the genre. |
| RogerEbert.comMonica CastilloFrom the moment Selah is shown on her wicker chair throne off-campus, Selah and the Spades is impressively filled with style. Through the lens of cinematographer Jomo Fray, the film is vibrantly colorful yet moody, dripping with teen angst. |
| The Film StageJared MobarakThe film doesn’t nail every beat . . . but what it gets right is unassailable. |
