• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Meet the Team
  • Contact us
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home Film

Film review: Selah and The Spades

★★★☆☆

Linda Marric by Linda Marric
2020-04-17 15:01
in Film, Film Reviews
FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

★★★☆☆

This poetic interpretation of the horrors of high school courtesy of writer/director Tayarisha Poe offers an interesting departure from the current onslaught of markedly pedestrian coming of age dramas churned out by the likes of Netflix. With hints of Heathers, Rushmore or to a lesser extent Mean Girls, Selah and The Spades presents an ambitious, if a little disjointed story about what happens behind the closely guarded doors of a prestigious private school. 

Seventeen year old Selah (Lovie Simone) is a senior at an exclusive private Pennsylvania boarding school. Not content with being one of the best students in her year, Selah also leads a faction of students called the Spades who sell illicit class A drugs to other students.

When new girl Paloma (Celeste O’Connor) transfers into the school and photographs her during Spirit Squad practice, Selah immediately sees potential in the newcomer as a potential replacement for when she finally graduates. Together with her right hand man Maxxie (Moonlight’s Jharrel Jerome), Selah prepares the field for Paloma to take over, but things don’t go exactly the way she had planned.

This is a handsomely acted and gorgeously composed teen drama which will go on to cement its director as a great new talent. Far from knocking you over the head with overly laboured and hackneyed pseudo-intellectual tropes, Selah and Spades has at its heart a decidedly spiky, punk rock attitude. And while the ideas are a little hit and miss, what is important here is that Poe has done it all on her own terms, which in itself is rather admirable. 

Despite a certain degree of contrivance and a highly implausible plot, Selah and the Spades still manages to hold its own and that is thanks to its beautifully diverse cast. And while its overly stylised vision of debauchery and ruthless machinations can sometimes feel a little implausible, this doesn’t take away from the bigger picture presented to us. Perhaps not perfect in every way, but definitely impressive for a directorial debut. 

Related: Film review: The Lawyer

RelatedPosts

Final Thoughts on Cannes 2022

Cannes 2022 Review: Tori and Lokita

Cannes 2022 Review: Pacifiction

Cannes 2022 Review: Elvis

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending on TLE

  • All
  • trending
Abdollah

‘Rescue us’: Afghan teacher begs UK to help him escape Taliban

CHOMSKY: “If Corbyn had been elected, Britain would be pursuing a much more sane course”

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

More from TLE

Leicester sign Ayoze Perez for £30million from Newcastle United

Sexual harassment and bullying at Westminster exposed by new probe

Court of Appeal quashes convictions of Ricky Tomlinson, Arthur Murray and the Shrewsbury 24

‘Embarrassing shambles’ as Care Workers & NHS excluded from new immigration rules

Can you name one company that has moved to the UK because of Brexit?

Thunderball Results for Tuesday 16 November 2021 Tonight’s winning numbers

Where Will Osborne’s Axe Fall Today?

Lysol and Dettol manufacturer tells customers not to inject disinfectants

Rescuers search rubble for earthquake victims as Turkey probes social media posts on quake

Kiwi farmers will face less red tape selling lamb to EU than UK counterparts after Brexit

JOBS

FIND MORE JOBS

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • JOBS
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Meet the Team
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.