Selah and the Spades

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Selah and the Spades

R

2019

1h 37m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

87%

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113 Reviews

47%

Popcornmeter

50+ Ratings

Five factions run the underground life of a prestigious east coast boarding school. The head of The Spades walks a fine line between being feared and being loved.

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Critics Consensus

A smart, well-acted, and refreshingly messy coming-of-age story, Selah and the Spades suggests a bright future for debuting writer-director Tayarisha Poe.

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Tim Robey

Daily Telegraph (UK)

It has a woozy, suggestive grip, dangling some questions, answering others. It isn't slick. It's singular - and Poe is clearly a name to watch.

Rated: 4/5

Nov 27, 2020

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Steve Pond

TheWrap

Poe's feature debut, though, has a style all its own, spare but rich and able to make the umpteenth teen movie we've all seen feel fresh.

Apr 28, 2020

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Charlotte O'Sullivan

London Evening Standard

Poe - a new kid on the block who already feels like a major talent - calls a spade a spade but manages to be dreamily oblique, right to the end.

Rated: 4/5

Apr 21, 2020

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Marya E. Gates

Cool People Have Feelings, Too. (Substack)

Poe’s film has a VOICE and she is master at world building,

Feb 13, 2024

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Nuha Hassan

Nuha Hassan (Medium)

Whether they are personal stories or a mixture of influential movies, Selah and the Spades is a fresh perspective of a genre that is quite the opposite of its predecessors.

Jul 20, 2023

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M.N. Miller

Ready Steady Cut

Poe’s debut feature is a highly stylized and engaging Juvenalian satire about today’s political climate that plays it too safe with its finale.

Rated: 3.5/5

Aug 28, 2022

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Lawrence E

Trying to conceive of some non-fatal method by which I could dispense with enough IQ points to find this movie the least bit interesting, believable or enjoyable. Abysmal script, lame plot, laughable dialog, flat-line acting, poor editing, poor filmography, and even poor sound. Maybe I could donate those IQ points to those who are comparing this movie to Heathers.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/08/25

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Audience Member

With an extremely interesting and refreshing point of view, Selah and the Spades intelligently narrates the quasi-criminalistic divisions in a school and, although it feels a bit exaggerated at times, it does its job by painting a portrait of the youthful confusion brought to life by the great work of its young cast.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

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Audience Member

Dialogue was not that great, but some of the visuals and scenes following Selah is amazing. Refreshing and different type of teen movie

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/21/23

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Audience Member

Whatever this movie was trying to be, it wasn't. By the time anything interesting starts happening, the movie ends.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/27/23

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Audience Member

The camera movement added amazingly with the background sound made the movie unique and outstanding, the entire directing was inspiring and the acting was 10/10 too.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The entire movie falls flat. It tries to cultivate this intrigue and mystique but is more like a high school acting class- where not even the actors are convinced of what they are doing. Painful waste. Like trying to show gang violence on a rich boarding school level.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

Full Review

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New on Amazon Prime Video in April 2020

Selah and the Spades: Trailer 1

1:57

Selah and the Spades: Teaser Trailer

1:35

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Synopsis

Five factions run the underground life of a prestigious east coast boarding school. The head of The Spades walks a fine line between being feared and being loved.

Director: Tayarisha Poe
Producer: Jill Ahrens, Drew P. Houpt, Lucas Joaquin, Lauren McBride, Tayarisha Poe
Screenwriter: Tayarisha Poe
Production Co: Argent Pictures, Cinereach, Secret Engine, MVMT, Novel Pictures
Rating: R (Language|Teen Drug Content)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 17, 2020
Runtime: 1h 37m

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