Review: Selah and The Spades

Charm, poise, intelligence, and manipulation. That’s what you’ll find in the high stakes world of this elite boarding school, where five factions run the student body. Fueling them with everything from gambling, to drugs and alcohol.

Selah (Lovie Simone) is the leader of the most prominent faction. The story starts with this queen bee searching for a successor to her thrown. The problem is this leader won’t settle for anything less than perfection. Perfection meaning, playing by her rules and her rules only. And crossing her comes with a consequence.

That’s where Paloma (Celeste O’Connor) comes in. A sweet newcomer who’s endeared by Selah’s confidant and cunning behavior. Selah takes her on as a protégé. Paloma quickly realizes the repercussions of crossing Shela.

This is a tale of jealousy and deceit. The film is good, but I found myself not really invested in the plot. I feel like there was more style than substance. Interesting shot choices and perfect use of music in scenes kept my eyes glued to the screen.

The high stakes in this drama fell a little flat for me. Mainly, because I felt there was no suspense to the consequences. The principal, played by Jesse Williams, barely disciplined the students for their actions and came off as unnatural and creepy. 

Selah’s unwavering confidence is at the heart of this. There’s a glimpse of why she is the way she is. That being said, I never felt a personal connection toward the character, nor did I find myself rooting for her. This could be because I didn’t see any redemption for her actions. 

Each member of the cast acts beautifully. The poetic dialog really sets the beat for the whole movie. In conclusion, this is an interesting film to watch. And if I had to sum it up in one word, that word would simply be stylish.

Watch Selah and The Spades streaming on Amazon Prime April 17th.