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Parents' Guide to

Selah and the Spades

By Renee Schonfeld, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Edgy, drug-filled look at dark side of upscale prep school.

Movie R 2020 97 minutes
Selah and the Spades Poster Image

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Kids say (1 ):

An impressive blending of both style and substance, along with masterful performances from young actors and stellar camera work, grace this debut film from Tayarisha Poe. In Selah and the Spades, Poe shows a wonderful gift for working with the cast, and an inventive, original way of storytelling. Lovie Simone as Selah and Celeste O'Connor as Paloma are front and center for most of the movie. It's astonishing how much sympathy and rooting interest Simone elicits even when cruel and power-hungry, and how expertly O'Connor covers a steely inner core with gentle submissiveness. Though the story and messages of the piece are disturbing, it's an incisive and original way to portray the power structure inherent in many subcultures.

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