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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nSelah and the Spades<\/em> takes place at Haldwell, a fictional boarding school where five gangs (or \u201cfactions,\u201d as they\u2019re called) run various illicit aspects of student life. Simone\u2019s Selah Summers runs the Spades, the most powerful faction, responsible for sourcing and selling all forms of recreational drugs. Selah\u2019s from a wealthy family, and doesn\u2019t need the money. She\u2019s in the game for power, and is having trouble passing that power on to a successor after she graduates. New girl Paloma (Celeste O\u2019Connor) is a promising candidate, but Selah feels threatened by just how naturally her protege takes to her role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Poe\u2019s movie heavily borrows elements from other stylized movies about high school social hierarchy. The school\u2019s criminal contingent is right out of Brick\u2019s<\/em> playbook. The insular, socially rigid world of Haldwell and its crisp parochial vibe are pure Rushmore<\/em>. The movie\u2019s cliques and girl-on-girl crime recall Heathers<\/em>, and its exploration of black identity in a typically white-dominated setting owes much to Justin Simien\u2019s Dear White People<\/em>. Similarly to Simien\u2019s movie, there are a lot of ideas at play in Selah and the Spades<\/em> that are intriguing individually, but taken together give it a kind of cinematic attention deficit disorder. There\u2019s a semblance of a plot, but without more focus, it can be hard to tell sometimes what the movie\u2019s actually about<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fortunately, Selah and the Spades<\/em> has Simone to anchor it. She displays stunning gravitas and poise as Selah, in a breakout performance that feels of similar heft and impressiveness to Florence Pugh\u2019s screen debut in Lady Macbeth<\/em>, even if the film itself isn\u2019t quite up to that level. Simone is chilly, reserved and self-assured, maintaining her composure and confidence while under tremendous pressure, and explosively emotional when the cracks in her facade start to show through. When Poe\u2019s movie starts to lose its way, Simone always brings it right back to center and commands your attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Regardless of Selah and the Spades<\/em>\u2019 tendency to drift, its style and ambition are undeniable. The movies Poe borrows from display excellent taste. The hyper-specific details of the setting, and the uniquely dreamy haze she casts over the whole affair, show a promising talent and eye for detail, as do the performances she gets from her cast. Poe\u2019s career will surely be worth watching, as will Simone\u2019s. If nothing else, it\u2019s worth watching Selah and Spades<\/em> now just so you can get on those respective buses early. ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/selah2.jpg\")
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